Summary of Key Points
This article reviews three critical mistakes made in the promotion of 5G: excessively exaggerating technical specifications, creating the illusion of a "universal solution," and concealing the difficulties and technical flaws in implementation. These mistakes led to the public having overly high expectations for 5G, which in turn sparked negative sentiment (such as the belief that 5G is useless) and ultimately eroded public trust. The article calls for 6G promotion to learn from these lessons and return to a more pragmatic and rational approach to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
1. Exaggerated Technical Specifications: Theoretical Values vs. Real-World Experience
Many media outlets have presented 5G's laboratory theoretical data as if it represented real-world experiences, confusing the technical concepts for different use cases, leading to misunderstandings among the public:
- "10 Gbps download speed": This is the theoretical maximum achieved in laboratories using millimeter-wave frequencies and dedicated resources for a single user. In China, 5G primarily uses Sub-6GHz frequencies, with actual speeds typically around 5 Gbps, far from the claimed megabits per second.
- "1 millisecond latency": This is a figure for specific use cases in the industrial internet of things (e.g., remote surgeries) that require specialized network infrastructure (such as edge computing and network slicing). For ordinary smartphone users, 5G latency is still in the tens of milliseconds, not significantly different from 4G.
- "One million connections per square kilometer": This does not refer to millions of people using the network simultaneously but rather the maximum number of IoT devices (e.g., water meters, sensors) that can be connected. These devices consume low power and have low data transfer rates, making them quite different from smartphones.
The media has also misinterpreted professional terms; for example, "network slicing" is designed to provide dedicated networks for different industries (e.g., healthcare, transportation), but it has been described as "one network per person," ignoring the technical and operational challenges involved.
2. Overstated Application Scenarios: Presenting the Future as the Present
Around 2019, the media used futuristic scenarios like "instant movie downloads," "remote surgeries," and "driverless cars" to highlight 5G's capabilities, leading the public to believe these features would be readily available. However, the reality is:
- Technology ≠ Practical Applications: 5G merely provides the network infrastructure; killer applications require a supporting ecosystem of technologies (e.g., high-precision medical equipment and low-latency networks) and the concurrent development of other technologies (e.g., AI, VR).
- Different Needs for Business and Consumer Users: 5G is mainly targeted at businesses (B2B), such as factory automation and smart agriculture. These applications are not as consumer-oriented as smartphone use cases (e.g., streaming videos, messaging), so the impact on everyday users is minimal.
This type of exaggerated promotion created unrealistic expectations, resulting in disappointment when users found 5G's benefits unmet.
3. Concealing Construction Difficulties and Defects
The media has largely avoided discussing the complexities and technical issues associated with 5G deployment, leading to misunderstandings:
- Long Construction Period: 5G base stations require extensive site selection, power infrastructure modifications, and capacity expansion. Even though China has built faster than other countries, widespread coverage is a lengthy process. Users, experiencing poor signal quality with 5G phones, may feel deceived.
- Signal Coverage: 5G uses higher frequencies, which offer faster speeds but have weaker signal penetration, resulting in a smaller coverage area compared to 4G. Comparing 5G and 4G in terms of signal quality is unfair, similar to comparing a car and a truck in terms of speed.
- Higher Power Consumption: 5G base stations consume more power, but they transfer data more efficiently (e.g., 3 times the power consumption per bit compared to 4G, yet they transfer 10 times the amount of data). Turning off some base stations at night is a power-saving strategy, reflecting the advancement of the technology.
The lack of transparency about these issues left users unprepared for 5G's shortcomings, leading to stronger reactions when problems arose.
4. The Harmful Effects of Excessive Promotion
The excessive promotion of 5G has had several negative consequences:
- User Disappointment: Users felt they were overcharged for 5G services without significant improvements in performance, and poor signal quality or reduced battery life led to negative feelings.
- Doubts about 5G's Utility: This skepticism spread, affecting both the general public and the tech industry, hindering the adoption and implementation of 5G.
- Erosion of Trust: Public trust in new technologies has declined, potentially creating greater resistance to 6G promotion in the future, as users become more cautious or even resistant.
5. A Warning for 6G: Move Away from Hype and Focus on Reality
The article concludes by suggesting that 6G promotion should:
- Reduce Conceptual Hype: Avoid using laboratory data as facts and avoid misleading scenarios to focus on the practical benefits and limitations of the technology.
- Be Transparent: Clearly communicate the construction timeline, target use cases, and potential challenges (e.g., the challenges of higher-frequency coverage).
- Return to Technical Reality: Highlight real-world applications and experiences to build trust in 6G, rather than relying on sensational marketing.
Only by adopting these approaches can we create a rational and supportive environment for the development of 6G and prevent another instance of excessive hype that undermines new technologies.