Page 104 - Hi-Fi_News_-_December_2020 video

OPINION

Paul Miller
Barry Fox
Technology journalist
Editor
Barry Fox trained in electronics with the RAF and worked as a patent agent, but he
Technician and writer on all things audio for some 30 years, Paul Miller took over
the editor’s chair in 2006. He invented the QC Suite, used across the audio industry
gave that up to enter journalism. He is one of the world’s top technology writers
Power of fi ve

Conspiracy theories abound when it comes to 5G technology but, says Barry Fox, provided it’s
properly and fully implemented there will be real benefi ts for listening to streamed music

he music industry has done an RIGHT: Ofcom has
efficient job (note, I do not say said that winning

‘good’ job) of pushing us into bidders for 5G
Tbuying our music – and video bandwidth in the
– online. As anyone who has suffered UK must prioritise
freezing pictures and stuttering sound residences when
well knows, the current broadband serving up the
infrastructure is not always up to it. service while the BBC
Digging up roads and pavements has been trialling
and driveways to lay more wire and broadcasts of live
fibre is one solution, but it’s positively radio via 5G as part

Victorian. The far better option is to use of the 5G RuralFirst
new 5G mobile and fi xed-link wireless initiative (see https://
links to deliver our broadband. And it’s www.5gruralfi rst.org
do-able because 5G was designed from for more)
the ground up to deliver higher speeds,
increased bandwidth and lower latency.
STEERING BY
Greater bandwidth means less risk of service offered by broadband provider delivery of 5G from local masts currently
congestion when the whole street is Relish. But better. Yet the real rollout of uses frequencies between 3.4GHz and
online at the same time. High speeds 5G (not just the hyped-up limited services 3.6GHz. Next year Ofcom will auction
mean live streaming of hi-res sound so far available) is already at risk. off further 5G frequencies at 3.6-3.8GHz
without buffering glitches or forced and 700MHz. These slots have been
quality downgrades. New aerial designs, RABID OPPOSITION agreed internationally as the primary 5G
meanwhile, should be able to steer 5G Everyone loves a conspiracy theory. Aliens bands because they represent a workable
beams past buildings that once acted as have landed and been kept locked up compromise between good cover over
obstacles. And low latency means there’s in a desert hangar, London tap-water reasonable distances and high data rates.
less risk of sync loss between sound and is poisonous, the Barbican Centre was
pictures (some of the live designed as a fortress for LIVING DANGEROUSLY
music streams that have military use in a national Current cellphone services variously
been available during the ‘The latest emergency… ‘They’ use frequencies of 800MHz, 900MHz,
lockdown have suffered would deny it, wouldn’t 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz and
from syncing problems). theory is that ‘they’? And no-one can 2600MHz. Some of these services began
Low latency also 5G technology ever disprove a negative. as far back as the mid 1980s. Which
means smaller, cheaper The latest theory is means that ever since then we have been
intelligent home devices is a health risk’ that 5G technology is a bathed in signals from masts.
which rely on computing health risk, so building For many years people – including
power ‘in the cloud’ new transmitter masts young children with thin skulls – talked
rather than in home hardware. Voice must be stopped. If this should happen by holding powerful transceivers close
control will continue getting better at 5G black spots will blight the roll-out of to their heads. Meanwhile, texting and
recognising commands and handling the service. In my neck of North West messaging is often done on the lap.
more complicated tasks – like room EQ. London, rabid opposition to both 3G So for well over 30 years we have been

The end of wires and fibre would also and 4G mast builds has already left some guinea-pigs, with no hard evidence yet
mean no need for home visits from men networks suffering from patchy cover. that cellphone signals are ionising and
with shovels or engineers to fi ddle with So far the 5G industry has done a shredding our body cells. And 5G works
junction boxes. We’d just get a receiver- remarkably rotten job of disseminating with similar powers at around 1GHz
router delivered to the door to plug in hard facts about 5G technology. So here higher. Is that1GHz hike really likely to be
– as with the existing into-the-home 4G are a few to bear in mind. Into-the-home a health-risk game-changer?

104 | www.hifi news.co.uk | DECEMBER 2020