There are several factors at work when it comes to implementing anything as substantial as 5G, apart from a considerable amount of time and resources. Here, we will answer to the three most frequent questions concerning 5G that everyone seems to have.
Motorola India assisted us in understanding the procedures that happen behind the scenes when it comes to the OEM side of things.
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Why do smartphone companies need to push out OTA updates to enable 5G, despite having a 5G chipset and modem?
Motorola said that enabling 5G takes a lot of effort and safeguarding before a software update is released for the public. Testing the service in different cities and regions, getting Google’s approval for the software and most importantly, due to increased radio waves, the SAR value also increases, ergo, before pushing out updates, thoroughly testing the phones for safe SAR values is paramount for your safety.
Motorola also conveyed to us that OTAs to enable 5G is a temporary thing, because as and when 5G rolls out extensively, phones will come out with native 5G support, without the need for an OTA, just like the current 4G phones do.
What is the difference between SA and NSA 5G?
Well, simply put, only SA is true5G and uses the 5G core to enable the lowest possible latency and speed, while NSA relies on existing 4G infrastructure and then combines some 5G elements to give you a 5G experience, but with comparatively higher latency.
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Pros and Cons of SA and NSA 5G:
Starting with SA, it uses an infrastructure that is made from the ground up, and utilizes the Evolved Packet Core and the 5G core to deliver blazing fast speeds and minimal latency. You get better call quality, faster downloads and less call drops compared to NSA because SA waves travel in a single direction. SA also utilizes less battery power – both on the phone and carrier side.
NSA, on the other hand, isn’t considered to be “true 5G” because it also uses the existing 4G infrastructure but is easier to implement and scale compared to SA. Leveraging the existing network, carriers like Airtel are looking forward to extending NSA 5G even to remote corners of India. Being a more cost effective way of implementing 5G, NSA 5G will surely reach people faster compared to SA 5G.
Which 5G bands are needed for phones being sold in India?
Low Bands (FR1):
These sub 1 GHz bands offer a wide coverage area, better indoor coverage and better non-metro coverage. The carrier bandwidth is up to 100 MHz. n28 band is offered only by Jio.
Mid Bands (FR1):
These sub 6 GHz bands are ideal for high density area coverage, and offer carrier bandwidth of up to 400 MHz – 1.1 GBPs. n78 band is currently enabled by both Jio and Airtel.
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Additionally, mmWave (24 – 52 GHz) includes n257 & n258 bands but currently, no phone in India supports these.
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