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Apple Files FCC Application to Test Next-Generation 5G Wireless Technology

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Apple is planning to test next-generation 5G wireless technologies, according to an application document filed with the FCC and discovered by Business Insider.

Apple applied for an experimental license to test wireless technology on millimeter wave spectrum bands. Millimeter wave bands provide higher bandwidth and throughput up to 10Gb/s, but are limited by line of sight issues that cause problems in dense urban areas.
"Apple Inc. seeks to assess cellular link performance in direct path and multipath environments between base station transmitters and receivers using this spectrum," Apple wrote in its application.

"These assessments will provide engineering data relevant to the operation of devices on wireless carriers' future 5G networks," it continued.
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Apple will test the technology in two locations in Milpitas and Cupertino over a period of time that is not expected to exceed 12 months, using equipment sourced from Rohde and Schwarz, A.H. Systems, and Analog Devices. Apple will use the 28 and 39 GHz bands, which were among those opened up by the FCC last year for the purpose of next-generation 5G broadband.

It's not entirely clear why Apple is planning to test millimeter wave performance or the purpose behind the testing. Cellular carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile are currently testing 5G networks in preparation to deploy the next-generation technology in the coming years.

Apple could perhaps be preparing its future iPhones to take advantage of 5G technology, or the company may have some other purpose in mind. As Business Insider points out, the 28GHz band in particular could be of interest as it has been earmarked for earth-to-space transmissions, an area Apple has been exploring based on recent hires with satellite expertise.

Article Link: Apple Files FCC Application to Test Next-Generation 5G Wireless Technology
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/23/apple-testing-5g-wireless-technology/
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I'm in Canada where our highest LTE plans are close to 10 GB with text and calling which is around $90 if you argue for hours and threaten to leave the carrier in question. I hope 5G takes off in the US... it could help us in the end. We'd kill our 6 GB plans in seconds with 5G as we don't have unlimited options on the larger carriers.

Meanwhile in Toronto, internet uses you :mad:
 
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It’s beginning to look like DSL, cable modems, and even fiber optics to the home are circling the drain. It will be much cheaper for service providers to build a tower and put an antenna on your home than to run copper, coax, or fiber to your house. Virtually no infrastructure maintenance and very high speed. Let’s hope the engineering hurdles get overcome quickly. The vast majority of homes will do just fine with a 1gigabit wireless connection.
 
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Keep in mind that with all bandwidths being equal, any frequency has the same speed/capacity.

5G will be powered with 200 MHz carriers (bandwidth) and massive MIMO technologies. Millimeter wave frequencies are the extremely high capacity parts of the equation. This means that all frequencies will be used for 5G.
 
MacRumors said:
the 28GHz band in particular could be of interest as it has been earmarked for earth-to-space transmissions, an area Apple has been exploring based on recent hires with satellite expertise.
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It's weird how we've gone from having rumors about maybe Apple competing with Elon Musk's Tesla to maybe Apple competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX... or perhaps being a customer of SpaceX.

For those unaware, SpaceX's main plan for making money is to make a satellite internet service. They plan for it to be much more lucrative then simply launching rockets.
 
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"Apple should focus on upgrading MACS (sic) instead..." reply in 3...2....1......
 
lkrupp said:
It’s beginning to look like DSL, cable modems, and even fiber optics to the home are circling the drain. It will be much cheaper for service providers to build a tower and put an antenna on your home than to run copper, coax, or fiber to your house. Virtually no infrastructure maintenance and very high speed. Let’s hope the engineering hurdles get overcome quickly. The vast majority of homes will do just fine with a 1gigabit wireless connection.
Click to expand...

That's not true at all.

  1. The cost of building an entire network from almost the ground up would be huge. You're talking about billions of dollars to build something like this.
  2. It takes anywhere from 2 months to 2 years to get approval for a permit to build a wireless tower. While you may be able to get approval quickly in the middle of nowhere in Texas, it's currently around 2 years for approval in areas like San Francisco or NYC. It would be a LONG time before they could create a decent network.
  3. You're ignoring data caps. Right now the average home uses 190GB per month and that number is only rising as video becomes more and more popular. Which carrier is going to be cool with streaming truly unlimited data with no speed caps?
  4. Why would an existing provider who is currently making money and has existing infrastructure want to make this huge left turn and go a completely different direction? There's no need. At home, you don't need wireless. You aren't going anywhere.
  5. Wireless isn't a great solution for homes. Many currently struggle with signal issues and other problems due to the location of their home. Traditional cable modem, fiber, and DSL solve this issue by bringing reliable service into the home.
Sorry, but it'll be a very long time before we see these technologies replaced by wireless.
 
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apple should just be a carrier so we can stop dealing with AT&T's/Verizon's BS. one plan that works worldwide would be AMAZING
 
lkrupp said:
It’s beginning to look like DSL, cable modems, and even fiber optics to the home are circling the drain. It will be much cheaper for service providers to build a tower and put an antenna on your home than to run copper, coax, or fiber to your house. Virtually no infrastructure maintenance and very high speed. Let’s hope the engineering hurdles get overcome quickly. The vast majority of homes will do just fine with a 1gigabit wireless connection.
Click to expand...
I'm thrsty for some 1gig action.
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
That's not true at all.

  1. The cost of building an entire network from almost the ground up would be huge. You're talking about billions of dollars to build something like this.
  2. It takes anywhere from 2 months to 2 years to get approval for a permit to build a wireless tower. While you may be able to get approval quickly in the middle of nowhere in Texas, it's currently around 2 years for approval in areas like San Francisco or NYC. It would be a LONG time before they could create a decent network.
  3. You're ignoring data caps. Right now the average home uses 190GB per month and that number is only rising as video becomes more and more popular. Which carrier is going to be cool with streaming truly unlimited data with no speed caps?
  4. Why would an existing provider who is currently making money and has existing infrastructure want to make this huge left turn and go a completely different direction? There's no need. At home, you don't need wireless. You aren't going anywhere.
  5. Wireless isn't a great solution for homes. Many currently struggle with signal issues and other problems due to the location of their home. Traditional cable modem, fiber, and DSL solve this issue by bringing reliable service into the home.
Sorry, but it'll be a very long time before we see these technologies replaced by wireless.
Click to expand...
But the carriers wouldn't be building a network from the ground up. They already have fibre backhaul. They already have towers, they already have a customer base. they might be making money now, but they want to also make money in the future. That requires supporting customers who happen to be increasingly mobile, and minimised infrastructure costs, including R&M. As for data caps, which would ramp up capacity more quickly, building up capacity on a tower, or laying new cables?

A line will always be faster. Wireless however, is mobile, more easily updated, replaced more quickly, and [eventually] will lower costs both for the provider and the the customer. You might not be going anywhere, but Wireless customers certainly are.

I am on 100 Mbps cable at home, but on my 4GX network I have got over 180 Mbps on my iPhone. I saw the future when I ran speedtest that day.
 
djbuddha said:
We'd kill our 6 GB plans in seconds with 5G as we don't have unlimited options on the larger carriers.
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If your data use habits don't change, then you wouldn't have to worry about going through your 6GB plans too quickly.

I agree with you about the carriers takin advantage though. Even at a discount, I feel like my families cellular plan is way too much money for what we get.

lkrupp said:
It’s beginning to look like DSL, cable modems, and even fiber optics to the home are circling the drain. It will be much cheaper for service providers to build a tower and put an antenna on your home than to run copper, coax, or fiber to your house. Virtually no infrastructure maintenance and very high speed. Let’s hope the engineering hurdles get overcome quickly. The vast majority of homes will do just fine with a 1gigabit wireless connection.
Click to expand...

I am not so sure about that, at least in the US.

Two big reasons why this wouldn't happen. One being that is these speeds are theoretical. Majority of users don't even come close to the fastest theoretical LTE speeds. In the US, average LTE speeds are a tiny fraction to the maximum theoretical.

Another reason being the current data caps that wireless carriers currently have would be way too low for even a light internet user at home.

Also, what this poster said:

OldSchoolMacGuy said:
That's not true at all.

  1. The cost of building an entire network from almost the ground up would be huge. You're talking about billions of dollars to build something like this.
  2. It takes anywhere from 2 months to 2 years to get approval for a permit to build a wireless tower. While you may be able to get approval quickly in the middle of nowhere in Texas, it's currently around 2 years for approval in areas like San Francisco or NYC. It would be a LONG time before they could create a decent network.
  3. You're ignoring data caps. Right now the average home uses 190GB per month and that number is only rising as video becomes more and more popular. Which carrier is going to be cool with streaming truly unlimited data with no speed caps?
  4. Why would an existing provider who is currently making money and has existing infrastructure want to make this huge left turn and go a completely different direction? There's no need. At home, you don't need wireless. You aren't going anywhere.
  5. Wireless isn't a great solution for homes. Many currently struggle with signal issues and other problems due to the location of their home. Traditional cable modem, fiber, and DSL solve this issue by bringing reliable service into the home.
Sorry, but it'll be a very long time before we see these technologies replaced by wireless.
Click to expand...
 
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