It is no news that there are numerous posts online concluding that the
spread of COVID-19 pandemic is closely related with the launch of the next-gen
network; 5G.
Firstly, let us try to have an understanding
of 5G. A look at the concept of SPEED simply says it is measured as
distance traveled over time (Distance/time). For instance, type something on
your phone while connected to the internet, you would receive response speedily
or delayed depending on the speed.
Network speed is measured in ‘bits per
second’(bps) and some of the widely used terms are; Kbps (Kilobits per
second), Mbps (Megabits per second), Gbps (Gigabits per second). Your network
speed is calculated as the volume of data (how much response) you can receive
at a given time.
5G stands for 5th
Generation and its of course wireless (not connected with cables). Everything
and everyone can be connected and access to data is faster, reliable and
accessible. It is not owned by a single company instead a wide group of
companies interested in furthering this technology. But how did the world get
this far?
*Note: The ‘G’ stands
for ‘Generation’
The evolution started in 1979 from then 1G (1st Generation) networks and has
evolved to 5G.
·
1G offered 2kbps
·
2G (based on GSM) offered 64Kbps
·
3G offered 2Mbps
to 1Gbps
·
4G offered up to 1Gbps
·
While 5G will be offering 1Gbps and above.
*5G allows up to 35Gbps, the fastest so far.
It is important to note that Bps (Bytes per second) is largely used to
represent upload/download because in terms of data size, it is conveniently
understood.
So, the question is:
"What's the squabble on the connection between 5G and
Covid-19?"
Answer: China is one of the countries in
the world manufacturing devices that can support 5G and they proudly own
Huawei. In fact, more recent trade issues in between June/July 2019 between the
U.S. (which owns Google) and China resulted in a famed squabble over the use of
Huawei products in the U.S. This stemmed from accusations that China had stolen
vital information regarding 5G technology from the U.S.
Furthermore, Huawei went on to launch a couple smartphones
this year which exclusively provide no support for Google products but only has
Huawei exclusive support and play store.
- No
Gmail app
- No play
store
- No
google maps
- No google search.
Way back as 2016,
talks about 5G implementation had already began across the world. South Korea
was the first country to adopt 5G on massive scale in April 2019. China had
some 5G devices out by July 2019. The U.S. had first launch of 5G coverage by
August 2019 and began to cover more areas by November/December 2019.
Switzerland, The UK and Spain were not left out.
Corona Virus on
the other hand was first reported on the 31st of December 2019
in Wuhan China. Which means the 5G saga started way before Corona virus became
a thing of concern. I believe most people attribute the virus to 5G simply
because It started in China.
Here's the point
we miss:
China has proven that they can be quite an
independent Superpower nation and they can lead the world in technology if they
so choose.
The question should be:
What’s going to be your role in
the outcome of these events???
It’s up to you. You can choose to build yourself with skills for the
future and be indispensable in your field....
Cheers
Samuel
Taiwo
PR
for SAMBATA DIGITAL ACADEMY.
E-mail: sambataict@gmail.com
References
1.
World Time Zone
https://www.worldtimezone.com/5g.html
2.
New
York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html
3.
Market
Realist
https://marketrealist.com/2019/07/huaweis-ceo-talks-us-ban/
