Wialan Technologies Inc (WLAN)

[Krisandtilly]

http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/20/11977960/fcc-5g-wireless-spectrum-proposal-thursday

As exciting as 5G is, it comes with some major technical hurdles. Signals for 5G won't be able to travel very far and won't be great at penetrating buildings. That means they'll require extensive cell tower deployment — which will be time consuming and expensive. New technologies will also be needed to let mobile devices keep track of 5G signals, which may need to be steered and aimed, rather than blanketing an area the way traditional wireless technologies have.

Some work has already started on all of this. Verizon recently began 5G tests, and AT&T intends to begin outdoor 5G tests over the summer. We've also seen 5G work from Google, Samsung, and a startup called Starry. This is all necessary to make 5G actually happen. They're the ones that'll have to overcome 5G's limitations and — hopefully — eventually land on a standard that'll make devices interoperable.

That's all still a few years out, at the earliest. But this week's actions by the FCC signal that it's moving toward reality.