The Future of Cellular Networks: 5G-Advanced, 6G, and DeWi

In the past as you’ve been shopping for cell phone plans one of the biggest advertising quotes you’ll come across many times over is “(insert wireless company name here) is offering you the best 5G network in the country!” 5G is known as the 5th generation mobile network, it has been the “new global standard” for wireless since 2018-2019. It succeeds 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G- (although you’ll find that 4G still has the biggest success rate in terms of finding wireless connections in more rural areas).

5G is meant to “deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.” As a customer looking for good phone coverage, you are most likely seeking the best 5G coverage. So comparing those 5G coverage maps might become an all-day hobby for you. But as technology advances at a faster and faster rate, 5G may no longer be the highest standard of wireless, in fact the future of cellular networks boils down to 5G-Advanced, 6G, and DeWi. But how are those three networks different from 5G? Are they better, worse, and are they something you can access right now? More questions like that answered here for you as we deep dive into 5G-Advanced, 6G, and DeWi.

• A Quick Cellular Network History Lesson
• What is 3GPP and why are they important?
• A Look Into: The Future of Cellular Networks

• Breaking down: 5G-Advanced
• Breaking down: 6G
• Breaking down: DeWi

• Can I get 5G-Advanced, 6G, and/or DeWi as my own cellular network?
• REALLY: The World’s First Fully Encrypted & Private Phone Service

A Quick Cellular Wireless History Lesson

As we draw up our mini-lesson plan it’s good to note that we won’t be covering all of the history of cellular wireless, this instead of a brief overhaul so you can see how far it’s come over the last 40-ish years. 

What began as 1G…

1G (First Generation) obviously didn’t start out by advertising itself as “1G” but overtime we gave it that name as we’ve developed technologies. 1G was the network of “voice calling capabilities” and that’s about it. It started building traction in the early late 70s/early 80s and it of course had its many problems as early technology had. Sound quality was poor, it wasn’t widely available in all areas, and generally was considered to be the most basic, poor voice calling system we had- but it was the start of cellular networks.

Made it to 2G…

In the early 90s 2G (Second Generation) was announced to the world. Our first hints at encryption were unlocked, you were able to send basic media content between two technologies, earlier complaints about sound and unavailability were starting to get addressed, overall it was the real start to what we see today. You’ll sometimes still see “2G” in the corner of your Smartphone when you’re in an area with little to no coverage, that’s because in the US our Smartphones are still “connected” to that bare-bones 2G network, but as of recently it has been slowly phasing out.

Led us to 3G…

3G (Third Generation) is most commonly referred to as the Smartphone’s first romantic partner. In the early 2000s 3G was announced and with it came the ability to browse the internet, stream and listen to music, watch videos, send email, and other seemingly “basic” phone qualities we all take for granted today. 3G was about speed, it increased the speed of 2G capabilities and introduced us to the ever-growing expanse of the internet. 

Now to 4G…

4G (Fourth Generation) is what we’ve been working with the longest. First introduced in 2009 by Norway, 4G capabilities made it so all those previous internet services, the browsing, streaming music, videos, emails- all of it was done at the fastest rates yet. However as the US rushed to get on the back of 4G there began the problem of a false start. There wasn’t enough supported technologies to have 4G reach its full intended speeds and that’s when 4G LTE was brought to the starting line. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is its own first generation of 4G technology- (think of it like 1G is the trunk of a tree, 4G is the arm of a tree, and LTE is the branch on the arm of 4G, 4G is still the stronger part of the tree but LTE is also a pretty solid branch). LTE has been sometimes called 3.95G, it’s still fast, but not quite as fast as 4G.

LTE was created by 3GPP (Third-Generation Partner Project) and the reason why we’re so used to seeing “4G LTE” in the same phrase even though it’s technically two different things is because of poor advertising and explanations. No really, the reason it’s so confusing is because people thought “3.95G” didn’t roll off as well as LTE. This allows some cell phone companies to say they’re giving you “4G” speeds when in actuality it’s LTE speeds but has been packaged as “4G LTE.” Nowadays you’ll find that 4G LTE is the most common cellular network to have a hold of.

And most recently to 5G…

In 2018-2019 5G was becoming the new “gold standard” for your phone network. With increased upload and download speeds across the board, 5G became well sought after for anyone with a Smartphone wanting to reach its full capabilities. The technology of 5G is all about its potential, and it is slowly leading us to its successors like 5G-Advanced, 6G, and DeWi.

What is 3GPP and why are they important?

We mentioned very briefly in our quick history lesson that LTE was created by the 3GPP, but who are they and why are they important? 

The 3GPP is the Third Generation Partnership Project and they were created because there were too many standards in 1G and 2G to follow. You’ve seen how technology has advanced over the past 20 years, think about monitoring it all. The 3GPP formed to create “a single Global standard.”

3GPP first started in 1998 and they now bring together SDOs (Standard Development Organizations) by providing their members with stable foundation in order to produce reports and specifications that define the 3GPP- think of it like a feedback loop but all throughout the world as the seven SDOs cover Japan (ARIB), the United States (ATIS), China (CCSA), Europe (ETSI), India (TSDSI), Korea (TTA), and Japan (TTC). 

Now the 3GPP don’t “create” the standards, they create specifications- there’s no legal standing. One or more SDO will transpose those specifications into standards. 

All that’s to say, the 3GPP is important because they are striving towards the complete creation of the Mobile Broadband Standard. On their website they introduce themselves by saying, “The 5G and LTE-Advanced ecosystem will allow for global network evolution, at the appropriate pace for the market need and the local state of readiness. The 3GPP model is one that maximises on its compatibility with legacy 3GPP infrastructure and equipment, delivering the promise of a ubiquitous end-to-end ecosystem that can support a growing number of use cases.”

They are helping provide better communications and monitor the ever-growing tech landscape to connect the internet everywhere.

A Look Into: The Future of Cellular Networks

Now that we have the background information, along with what we’re striving for, it’s time to look at the future of cellular networks and what’s soon arriving on our front porch steps. 

→ Breaking down: 5G-Advanced

Starting out with 5G-Advanced. Like the name suggests it is the “advanced” version of 5G, aka the next big step in 5G technology. It’s going to bring a new level, an upgraded version of what we get now from 5G but reflecting the rise of tech in the 2020s. From Nokia it will “It will support advanced applications with enhanced mobility and high reliability as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that will improve network performance.” It’s also starting the first steps into energy-saving practices which is a pretty big move for energy conservation efforts. It’s basically going to take the concept of 5G and fulfill its full potential because as of right now we are only beginning to understand the capacities 5G has for us.

Here are two key highlights:

• Improved Experiences. There will be an overall improvement of experience for the machines processing information and the people using them. Less load times and interruptions in your internet and data-based tasks. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) has been slowly becoming readily available and with the release of the Apple Vision Pro- 5G-Advanced looks to enhance that tech to better support the dreams it wishes to achieve along with all AR and VR tech.
• Improved Coverage. As more and more people get cell phones and more and more people expand their living spaces, the need for better widespread coverage continues and 5G advances are making improved coverage a priority.

Learn more about all the elements 5G Advanced is advertising and get more technical here.

→ Breaking down: 6G

6G will be the Sixth Generation technology for wireless communication. It’s the future talking and 6G is running to pick up the phone. Operating in unknown radio frequencies and using one of the fastest-growing cognitive technologies to date: AI (Artificial Intelligence), 6G wants to enable the golden goose of “high-speed, low-latency communication” at a rate far greater than 5G.

It is currently being developed, as is 5G-Advanced and it will be the successor of both 5G and eventually 5G-Advanced. With tech moving so fast, working on multiple steps to get to 6G by utilizing and rolling out 5G-Advanced technologies will help 6G reach its goals of being a faster more reliable cellular network and internet service. The exact method(s) to how 6G will work is not known as of now (March 2024), still though from early outlooks from experts it seems that the best we have now- 5G, will be surpassed by 6G in exponential ways. Take everything we discussed above for 5G-Advanced and make it even better. Engineers are attempting to improve transmitting data at “ultra-high” frequencies and they want to push the envelope eventually getting to hundreds of GHz (gigahertz) or even THz (terahertz) ranges. Speed, improved coverage, expanding and adapting to current tech and their own capabilities, along with enhancing machine to machine communications for better supported virtual and physical technologies. 

→ Breaking down: DeWi

DeWi stands for Decentralized Wireless and many are calling it the future for all communication networks. It’s a relatively new way to stay connected to strong wireless signals. You know that with traditional wireless networks integration has been their main “pro” and with their widespread coverage it’s made public use of it easier than ever. While well integrated, there can come a few issues including having to build, construct, and maintain cell towers. These networks that own the towers, mainly companies like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are a part of “centralized” wireless. 

DeWi, Decentralized Wireless, instead will sell their network antennas to customers where they will act as their own beacon, or in more technical terms- nodes. Nodes act as either a redistribution path or an end point depending on how many devices and what the connectivity path(s) are. Cell towers and the antennas you’ll see most commonly now are the nodes for our current 4G LTE technology which is the most widespread wireless tech we currently have- (though 5G and our options above are becoming more popular the more we advance). 

And with no central cell tower, hackers will have a much much harder time trying to get into your personal online information, making DeWi the highlight for data privacy and encryption.

Now agreeing to and setting up your own antenna- aka node- at home is asking a lot of the customer especially when most people aren’t tech experts. It’s also a lot of infrastructure to make and mass produce, along with getting people to join-in. It can lead to lower-costing data which in a changing financial client could be a huge boon. But again, right now it’s still so new so coverage will really depend on your area, so if you do go DeWi make sure to look into how your area would fare if you were to set up an antenna in your home.

See a full breakdown of DeWi from this related blog post: What is DeWi? Our Complete Guide to Decentralized Wireless Networks

Can I get 5G-Advanced, 6G, and/or DeWi as my own cellular network?

We said it in brief before, but as of right now (March 2024), both 5G-Advanced and 6G cellular network options are not “out” to the general public right now. Currently according to many different experts online, 5G-Advanced looks to potentially be coming later this year, early 2025. While 6G looks to be a bit of a longer wait with times estimated to be closer to 2030.

DeWi however, is something that with a bit of looking in the right places, is something you can begin to access now. Companies like Helium and Pollen, both based in cryptocurrency, are two that hold their stakes and efforts into DeWi. They are one of the only two to fully step into the Decentralized Wireless game- that is until REALLY started to fall into their footsteps.

REALLY: The World’s First Fully Encrypted & Private Phone Service

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It’s DeWi, it eliminates dead zones and with REALLY it delivers on secure access to a fully encrypted wireless network. See the full mission and become a part of the future of cellular networks with REALLY.

5G-Advanced, 6G, and DeWi are tastes of what’s to come for the future of cellular networks. With 5G-Advanced and 6G technologies utilizing what we know now is possible in tech and DeWi making it so those looking for reliable and secure network connections have an easy way to access that, it seems like the path ahead is full of possibility. 

And if you’re interested in other REALLY services like comparing and contrasting any wireless carrier to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.