It is very naive to think of 5G is just about a new generation of mobile services for terminals which provides enhanced bandwidth for high speed data streaming. The capabilities and features that 5G can provide are beyond our imagination and yet to be explored for all kinds of possible applications which will affect peoples’ live.
Simply saying 5G is the mean to provide the necessary connectivity for THINGS in this world. This makes the concept of Internet of Things realizable. Due to one very important feature that is extremely low latency, it further enables very impossible missions to become feasible as the response time of every action is much faster than human being. Autonomous cars, remote surgery are just a few examples. Anyone or any country who dominates the 5G technology will be a strong candidate to lead the world and therefore naturally this key technology has become a fighting arena between the world’s superpowers.
One of the most wonderful thing that always excites me is how human beings can make use of the space we are living in to provide connectivity among things. Many articles have talked about 5G connectivity and what it can bring to impact the society. Most of the discussions and articles centers around how 5G can benefit/affect our lives and how its gonna be deployed in our homes, cities and nations.
Today lets look at another project that is less discussed on. However, the impact that it brings, if successfully deployed can rival 5G in the revolution and changes that it made.
Introducing Starlink
Starlink is a project aims to provide connectivity for the world but this time it is through the space above us. Constructed by SpaceX company, its goal is to provide internet connectivity around the globe. This grand ambition will involve launching thousands of spacecrafts that are aimed to provide internet services coverage around the globe. It is very hard to judge if Starlink is a rival for 5G as the technology features are still very much unknown.
Starlink vs 5G
Based on the current assessment, it is very challenging to provide similar data rate when compared with 5G initiative due to the bandwidth limitation and long distance communication disadvantage for starlink. Long distance mainly because the link is from ground to space and very much depends on satellite communication technology. However cost-wise, Starlink may actually be economically lower as far as coverage is concerned. In contrast to Starlink, to provide similar connectivity coverage, the number of base stations 5G technology required for deployment on the ground will be tremendous and the cost will be disproportionately higher!
It is interesting to note that the advancement of microwave technologies will always be the key driver for the development of both 5G and Starlink game changing technologies. FILPAL is glad to be a small contributor to microwave world and we produce microwave filters for both mobile base stations and satellite applications. Microwave filters are vital components in these systems as they provide the filtering function to select the desired signals as well as protecting the systems from interferes. If you want to know about microwave filters. please visit FILPAL.
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