Essay Sample on The Benefits and Drawbacks of 5g: Is the New Generation Worth It?

To understand the benefits and drawbacks of 5G networking, we first must understand how 5G communication starts. Wireless communication has been around for decades, but the world has never seen anything like the speed and power of 5G. But how does wireless communication work? For wireless communication to take place, data are required to be transported without wires. This data is transported using signals (electromagnetic waves). Now the question comes to: How can we create a signal to be sent wirelessly from a device? It starts at the device’s transmitter, where the oscillator generates periodic waves (a wave with a repeating continuous pattern that determines its wavelength and frequency). This signal moves through the internal wires of the device up to the antenna. Since the antenna is a conductor, the electric current goes further towards the end of the antenna. The antenna then radiates the current as an electromagnetic wave. This is where wireless communication starts (ex. antenna converts electric current into waves). Now that we understand how 5G networking communication starts, we start to think: How is 5G better than its predecessors?

Before 5G was another technological advancement, 4G. 4G is the networking infrastructure most commonly utilized by the general public. When it came out, it was a big mobile revolution, letting us stream high-definition shows wherever and whenever we want. The three major differences between 4G and 5G are faster speeds, higher bandwidth, and lower "latency," or lag time in communications between devices and servers. With every new WiFi generation that comes out, new fears are created. For example, some are that:

humans have never been exposed to this much of this type of radiation before

scientists have not demonstrated that the proposed new infrastructure won't be harmful to humans, the World Health Organization has already declared radio-frequency (WiFi) radiation to be "possibly cancerous," and therefore, we should declare a moratorium on this technology until its safety has been established.

These fears have simple answers that prove them incorrect. These answers are explained by the electromagnetic spectrum (left). You're normally only aware of your interactions with optical (visible) and infrared (heat) radiation, but there's much more that's constantly interacting with your body. There are lower-energy signals like microwaves, waves with lengths between a millimeter and a meter, that hit us constantly on Earth. Microwave radiation is a mix of natural signals like atmospheric molecules and astronomical signals, coupled with radio, radar, satellite, Bluetooth, GPS, and broadband signals. It also includes all WiFi signals, including 3G, 4G, and 5G. In addition to low energy signals, high energy signals are invisible to human eyes. Some examples of these signals are ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. High-energy signals have much smaller wavelengths than low energy signals. The wavelengths of high-energy signals are usually under one micrometer (1/1000000 of a meter). It is proven that, in large doses, any form of radiation can be dangerous to living things, but in modest doses, only the high-energy signals matter. 

Now that the myths about 5G being harmful to humans have been dismantled, you might be thinking: Why was 4G not enough? Why do we need 5G? In our fast-moving and innovative world, people are always searching for more. This time they have succeeded in creating a network that is better than 4G, and here’s why. 5G brings faster data speeds and low latency communication. Large sports networks are already using 5G networks to stream sporting events live wirelessly. The power of 5G is equivalent to 30 4K cameras all on one network streaming to a live broadcast. 5G is expected to generate 10 trillion USD of revenue by 2035. 

In conclusion, the benefits of 5G networking massively outweigh the drawbacks. Any fears that exist can be easily suppressed by science. Looking into the future, we can predict not only that 5G will make a large amount of money, but that new generations of networking might come to exist that are even more powerful than we have now. 5G has created many arguments and disputes but in the end, it is obvious that it is the best choice when trying to procure the fastest, smartest network with the most bandwidth and the least lag.