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Q & A

We would like to answer in an easy-to-understand manner the "questions" that you may have about 5G.

The questions on this page are from the second year of high school at Kanagawa University High School, and include those that were asked in the survey. Thank you very much for your cooperation in the survey.

  • Will the communication fee increase?

    It is expected that overall, there will be more high-capacity and cheaper rate plans in the future. In December 2020, NTT DOCOMO announced a new 5G-compatible rate plan called "ahamo". This plan is 2,980 yen/month (excluding tax) for 20GB. Considering that DOCOMO's previous rate plan "Giga Lite" was 2,980 yen for 5GB, the price per GB will drop dramatically. As a result, other companies are also expected to offer price reductions. With the spread of 5G, which is characterized by high speed and large capacity, the cost per 1GB of mobile communication (unit price of data) will decrease, so from now on, unlimited communication and large capacity rate plans will be available at the same or even lower prices than before.

  • When will it become more widespread nationwide?

    As of November 2020, all of the carriers have indicated that full-scale deployment will begin in fiscal year 2021 or later, and as you can see from the roadmap of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 5G will not be available nationwide until around 2025, when the Osaka Expo will be held.[1] Looking at the outlook for each carrier, Docomo proposed a goal in early November 2020 to increase the infrastructure deployment rate of 5G communications to about 97% by the end of 2023.[2] KDDI and Softbank, on the other hand, are aiming to increase the number of compatible base stations to 10,000 by the end of 2022[3], and Softbank is targeting 90% population coverage by the end of 2021.[4]

  • What happens to 4G when 5G becomes popular?

    No specific end date has been given, as no carrier has a roadmap for the end of 4G, but 4G will cease to exist in a decade or so after the full transition to 5G. 3G, which is scheduled to end in 2026, has been in operation for 16 years since 2010, when 4G service began. The 3G service, which is set to end in 2026, has been in operation for 16 years since 2010, when the 4G service started, so the 4G service may end in 15 years or more. Also, since some of the 5G communications use 4G technology, 4G will not be terminated until some of them are completely migrated to 5G.

  • Is it true that you can download a two-hour movie in three seconds?

    It is true.However, in the current environment as of November 2020, the movies that can actually be downloaded in 3 seconds will be 2-hour movies with HD quality or lower. In the future, when 5G facilities are in place nationwide, it may be possible to download HD quality movies in 3 seconds.

  • Will we no longer need Wi-Fi?

    It will be unnecessary in the future.While the latest Wi-Fi as of November 2020 has a theoretical speed of 9.6Gb/s, the 5G communication using extremely high frequency that will become widespread in a few years will have a theoretical speed of 20Gb/s, about twice as fast.

  • What's the difference between "Sub6" and "extremely high frequency"?

    It is based on concern for the environmental as the proliferation of electronic devices continues, and how to improve energy efficiency for a better and greener life. The higher the frequency, the wider the bandwidth and the better the communication. For now, all you need to know is that the higher the frequency value, the wider the radio waves will travel, and the more data you can send.
    On the other hand, it is more susceptible to obstacles and has a narrower range of reception.
    The Sub6, which has a frequency value not much different from that of 4G, has a large communication range and can easily set up a communication environment with the use of existing technology, but it is significantly inferior to extremely high frequency in terms of communication speed.

  • What's the difference between a 5G-enabled phone and a non-5G-enabled phone?

    There is a difference in the antennas inside the phone: 5G-capable phones support carrier aggregation and extremely high frequency radio waves, as described in the 5G technology page. In addition to the above, it is important to keep in mind that there are many other factors that may affect the performance of a smartphone.

  • When using ultra high speed network, do we have to think about the data usage?

    Communication restrictions will disappear in the future, but not to the extent that 5G will be widespread as of November 2020.
    The major carriers (Docomo, Softbank, KDDI) and Rakuten currently only offer unlimited communication in the form of contract plans with conditions such as limited time, limited range, limited video & SNS, etc. We will still need to use our phones with an eye on the data usage.