Is it worth buying 5G? This is worth knowing

Almost all new phones already support 5G, and many have already acquired a 5G subscription. However, phones are not the only use of 5G, and more and more homes are relying on 5G connections in their home network solution as well.

Using 5G connections is more expensive, but is it worth the investment? Director of Mobile Operations at DNA Mikko Valtonen according to the 5G connection comes into question especially in sparsely populated areas.

– Although the fiber network is being built at a rapid pace, we still have many suburbs, detached house areas and other areas in Finland where mobile technology is practically the only option. 5G in particular has replaced old xDSL connections using telephone cable. Many of our customers have also upgraded their 4G connections to the 5G era driven by increased data transfer needs. And I’m not surprised that 5G is really a different class than DSL or 4G, Valtonen says.

Also Elisa’s Business Director Juha Laukkanen highlights the need for fiber speed for many Finns.

– More and more consumer customers end up choosing 5G mobile broadband as their primary Internet connection. In general, customers are looking for a better and more reliable alternative to their current connection that better covers their different usage needs. A typical 5G broadband customer usually lives in an area where, for example, a fixed fiber-optic connection is not available, or an fiber-optic connection may be considered expensive and more difficult to obtain compared to a 5G connection, Laukkanen says.

One of the benefits of mobile broadband is Valtonen, which mentions significantly lower installation costs compared to fiber, for example, when new cabling and thus digging out the yard is not needed at all.

Elisa Laukkanen says that the connection fees alone, in addition to the construction costs of the fiber itself, can be hundreds or even thousands of euros.

There are different implementation options for 5G broadband. Finnish operators offer, for example, 5G modems that can be permanently installed on the outside wall, with which the connection should be the best possible. In addition to this, there are small 5G modems on the market that can be wall mounted with a dowel. The good thing about such modems is that you can even grab one for a cottage or a trip, where a separate internet goes with you, if only the coverage is enough.

However, Valtonen states that Finns are increasingly getting a permanent internet connection for their cottage. This has been accelerated especially by the change in the telework culture, but also by the internet connection required by, for example, heating and safety equipment.

4G vs. 5G

Since the first 5G connections became more widely available in Finland, consumers have asked whether 5G is useful if you already have a working 4G connection. For example, when watching 4K content at home, games download quickly and the connection is flat, is it worth considering buying a 5G modem?

– It is true that in many places the 4G network works really well. At its best online, a good 4G terminal can get hundreds of megabits per second. Then there are those other places. Customers’ data transfer needs are constantly growing and in some places there is too little capacity in the 4G network, Valtonen says.

– The capacity of the 5G network is many times higher than, for example, the 4G network, which enables the versatile utilization of the Internet connection for different purposes, Laukkanen adds.

Valtonen also points out that download speed is not the only thing worth staring at.

– Delay and transmission speed (uplink) also play an important role in the customer experience. For example, backing up files to the cloud is usually faster with a 5G connection than with a 4G network, as is sending pictures and videos to friends. Video conferencing, which has become more common with teleworking, also requires a fast and reliable connection from the customer to the base station, Valtonen says.

According to Laukkanen, teleworking and studying have increased significantly during the corona pandemic, which has been one of the major factors in increasing the demand for faster connections.

– Today, there can be several Internet users at home at the same time. The use is also versatile and can address both work and leisure needs, further increasing the importance of the functionality of the connection.

Valtonen and Laukkanen also say that the share of 5G connections is constantly growing.

– A certain kind of “hunger grows when eating” phenomenon is also visible. When the connection plays great and the speed drops, the amount of data transfer also increases, Valtonen says.

– We see growth especially in the fixed 5G mobile broadband product, Laukkanen says.

The challenges of 5G

There may also be a problem with the 5G. In large cities, such as Helsinki, there are still blind spots, even though the coverage map might look just green on the pages of service providers.

– Local shadows are the downside of any type of wireless communication, regardless of technology or service provider. It is not commercially possible to build a complete 100% coverage area with high capacity, Valtonen says.

Another thing that affects the connection is the 5G frequencies. For the time being, the 5G broadband signal travels mainly at a frequency of 3.5 GHz, which is attenuated more strongly in structures than 4G frequencies. For this reason, 5G is not usually heard very well in basements, for example.

In addition, acquiring a 5G can simply be a bad luck with the antennas of service providers. If your service provider’s antennas are unfavorable to your modem, you won’t get the most out of your 5G. Therefore, the location of the modem is of great importance if it can be moved or installed freely.

Laukkanen says that the coverage area has been significantly increased in recent years. Laukkanen talks about additional construction, which will patch up areas where the strength of the 5G network has not yet been good enough for all customers in the area.

– This can be reflected, among other things, in the low connection speed. However, these areas will be rehabilitated with supplementary construction.