Infographic: 5G pinch points

The transition to the fifth generation of wireless broadband technology (5G) has been rocky. To facilitate faster and more reliable digital communication, as 5G promises, radio-spectrum regulators have approved the operation of 5G transmitters and receivers within various wavelength bands in the 1–25 GHz range. Radio waves in the L (~1–2 GHz) and C (~4–8 GHz) bands travel long distances but have limited bandwidth. Those in the 24 GHz band don’t travel as far but have the wide bandwidth needed to increase data-transfer rates by an order of magnitude.

The problem is that the radio spectrum is already used by many other players, and recent 5G licenses granted in the US have approved the use of wavelengths that are close to those used for essential scientific and technical applications. Existing technologies that are potentially threatened include satellites that measure water vapor , altimeters that record an airplane’s vertical position, and the host of instruments that private and public interests rely on for GPS navigation . The neighboring chunks of spectrum are close enough that the 5G signal power may bleed into nearby bands and cause signal interference, especially when 5G activity ramps up.

Here we’ve identified some notable 5G pinch points between the new communication standard and several key scientific and technical applications. —AL