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As it stands, in the UK we are yet to be able to access a 4G mobile network due to various restrictions and delays in getting the networks ready. Yet despite this, a research unit based at the University of Surrey have been given a grant to the tune of £35million (thirty-five million GBP) to get working on the next standard, being dubbed (rather inspiringly) 5G. The grant itself has been given to the University by mobile network operators and infrastructures as well as the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund to create a “5G Innovation Centre”.

Experts and usage patterns tell us that the mobile data usage rates are doubling each and every year and unfortunately, the current infrastructure simply won’t be able to keep up with the demand. That’s why we’re on the verge of being able to use operators’ 4G networks, which should be enough for the foreseeable future, right? Wrong! We’re being told that within the next 10 years, even the “new” 4G networks will be unable to keep up with the demand on mobile devices. This is mainly down to user demand for High Definition movies and videos on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo as well as streaming live sporting (and non-sporting) events from around the world.

The upcoming 4G networks will be able to offer speeds up to a mind boggling 1Gbit per second in low mobility situations (such as walking around or sitting at home) or 100Mbit whilst in a high mobility situation (such as on trains, in cars or other high speed vehicles). Still, 100Mbit isn’t anything to be sniffed at as it is still over 10 times faster than the UK average, making the 1Gbit peak speed over 100 times faster than the UKs average broadband!

Touching on to 5G however, the main focus is optimising features of the current technology and developing further benefits such as lower power usage of the network infrastructures. This will be a huge benefit to the network operators as as it stands, the networks are using vast amounts of power and with usage doubling every year, there’s not a lot of scope to work on this on current networks. They will also work on making better use of the spectrum to squeeze every last drop from the existing frequencies with less of a power / system outlay. It also plans to better prioritise the traffic and data that’s being sent over the network. For example, your phone calls need to be sent immediately with high-priority so that you can speak to the person at the other end without delay. On the other hand, less important data such as an app download will take lower priority and only be pushed through the network when there is less congestion. This prioritisation method isn’t likely going to be noticeable for end users, however in the underlying systems, it will make it much more manageable and allow for a smoother service. This partnered up with the more energy efficient set up and the scope to increase speeds further by making better use of the frequency spectrum will be a formidable combination for the network industry.

This marks a major step in the right direction for the continued development of mobile networks and £35million will give the researchers at the University of Surrey plenty to work with to make sure that we can all get our High Definition episodes of Eastenders on our phones and tablets without buffering and lagging!