5 Things to Know About 5G
关于5G，你不得不知的5件事
By Karissa Bell
文/卡丽莎·贝尔
Slowly but surely, we’re moving closer and closer to the super-connected, ultra-fast, 5G world tech companies have been promising us for years.
众多科技公司多年来为我们所描绘的超互联、超快速的5G时代正一步一步向我们走近，虽然速度缓慢，但它终将到来。
Here’s what you need to know about the state of 5G right now.
接下来就谈谈你需要了解的5G时代。
1. It’s really, really fast
1. 它的确超快
Okay, it sounds obvious, but it’s important to understand just how much faster 5G is compared to current 4G LTE speeds. 5G will not only be many, many times faster than your existing LTE connection, it will be significantly faster than the broadband connection you have at home.
这样说似乎是老生常谈，但我们非常有必要了解，与现行的4G的LTE网络制式相比，5G到底有多快。5G不仅比你现在的LTE连接快很多很多倍，而且它还会大大超过家里的宽带连接速度。
To put that in perspective, the fastest 4G download speeds in the U.S. top out at an average of 19.42 Mbps, according to OpenSignal. 5G, by comparison, promises gigabit speeds.
客观地说，据全球移动网络质量测评机构开信的数据显示，美国最快的4G平均下载速度高达19.42Mbps。相比之下，5G将会达到千兆速度。
Qualcomm’s first 5G modem, the Snapdragon X50, supports speeds up to 5 gigabits per second. That’s more than 257 times faster than the average speed of the fastest LTE network in the United States.
美国高通公司的首款5G调制解调器骁龙X50支持每秒5千兆速度。这比美国最快的LTE网络的平均速度还要快257倍。
Most of us have never experienced anything close to speeds that fast – even Google Fiber tops out at 1 Gbps. And we’re only talking about the first generation of 5G modems. Future chips will likely be even faster.
我们大多数人还从未真正体验过这种速度，因为谷歌光纤最快也只不过1Gbps。而我们谈论的仅仅是第一代5G调制解调器，未来的芯片很可能会更快。
2. But... it’s not just about speed
2. 但它不只是速度超快
It’s not all about speed though. Yes, 5G networks will bring blazing fast data connections, but they also enable much more than that.
5G并非只是速度超快而已。的确，5G网络将带来极速的数据连接，但其功能还远不止于此。
Part of the appeal of 5G is that it also brings much higher capacity to mobile networks, meaning that networks will be able to support many more data connections than what was previously possible. Have you ever been to a large event where your data connection slowed down or stopped working? That’s because 4G networks can only support so many devices before being overloaded.
5G的部分吸引力在于它还为移动网络带来了更大的容量，这意味着网络将能支持比以前多数倍的数据连接。你是否遭遇过数据连接迟缓或断网等烦心事？那是因为4G网络超载了，因为其能够支持的数据设备有限。
But 5G networks have a much higher capacity. They’re required to be able to support up to a million devices per square kilometer, according to the International Telecommunications Union’s standards.
但5G网络的容量更大。根据国际电信联盟的标准，它每平方公里能够支持100万台设备。
In addition, 5G is a huge upgrade over 4G when it comes to latency, or the amount of time it takes for data to be transmitted. Because 5G networks support extremely low-latency connections, devices will be able to communicate much faster than previously possible.
此外，相比4G，5G在减少数据传输的延迟或耗时方面也有重大升级。由于5G网络支持极低延迟的连接，这将大大加快设备的通信速度。
Which brings us to…
这将带给我们……
3. 5G isn’t just for phones
3. 5G不光适用于手机
Put all this together and you begin to understand why 5G is such a big deal – and not just for the smartphone industry. It has huge implications for just about every connected device.
结合以上这些因素，你就会逐步明白5G为何如此重要，不但对智能手机行业，而且对所有连接设备都会产生巨大影响。
The technology will be essential for self-driving cars, which will need to be able to communicate with the world around them as quickly as possible. Lower latency and higher capacity means that cars will actually be able to communicate with their surrounding environment fast enough to enable them to actually be fully autonomous.
这项技术对于自动驾驶汽车尤为重要，因为它需要在最短的时间内了解其周围环境。较低的延迟和较高的容量意味着汽车能够超快地了解四周环境，从而实现完完全全的自动驾驶。
Consumer tech like wearables, virtual reality headsets, PCs, and smart home devices will all dramatically improve as well, thanks to 5G. Even day-today tasks like checking social media or initiating a video call could drastically change.
借助5G，可穿戴设备、虚拟现实耳机、电脑和智能家居设备等消费类技术也将大幅改善。即使是查看社交媒体或发起视频通话这类日常行为也可能发生巨大变化。
4. It won’t be cheap
4. 其价格不会便宜
The downside of all this, at least initially, will be all that extra speed is likely to come at a higher cost. Sprint’s CEO expects to jack up the price of unlimited data plans by as much as $20 to $30 for 5G.
至少在初始，5G的缺点会是其超快的速度可能伴随着更高的成本。美国斯普瑞特公司的首席执行官表示，预计5G无限流量套餐的价格将上涨20至30美元。
Other carriers haven’t commented on specific pricing yet, but, as others have pointed out, data costs have historically climbed as network speeds increase and there’s little reason to think that trend won’t continue for the foreseeable future.
其他运营商尚未对具体价格提出定论，但正如其他运营商所指出的那样，随着网速的提升，数据成本也一直在大幅攀升，所以有理由相信这种趋势在可预见的未来还会持续。
It’s not all bad news, though. Companies like Qualcomm say they’re optimistic data prices will come down in the long run due to the sheer number of new devices that will be coming online once 5G starts to roll out. But it’s impossible to say how long that transition could take.
但也并非只有坏消息。高通等公司则乐观地表示，从长远看，数据价格将呈现下降趋势，原因就在于一旦5G技术推出，将有大量新型设备上线。但是这一转变过程到底需要多长时间则难以预计。
5. We’re not quite there yet
5. 5G的到来还需要时日
Though we’ve seen a lot of positive progress just in the last year, we still have a long way to go before 5G is anywhere near as pervasive as 4G is right now. Carriers and hardware companies are only just beginning to make commitments for 2019.
尽管去年我们看到了许多积极进展，但要使5G像当下的4G一样普及，还有很长的一段路要走。运营商和硬件公司刚刚承诺，5G将于2019年推出。
But most in the industry agree that 2020 is the earliest 5G will even begin to touch most consumers. And even then, early 5G networks could come with their fair share of growing pains – like inconsistent coverage or negative effects on battery life.
但多数业内人士一致认为，5G向大多数消费者普及的时间最早也要到2020年。即便如此，早期的5G网络也可能会遭遇发展中的困难，如连接中断或对电池寿命造成的负面影响等。
（译者单位：天津理工大学）