We are about to enter the year 2022 . This year will probably be the one in which millions of Spaniards will renew their mobile phone, change their router, or change their fiber operator. If we are going to make one of those changes, it is practically essential to look at several things before taking the leap.
5G, essential from 2022
In the case of changing mobile, it is very important to make sure that it has 5G connectivity. Currently, almost all mobile phones on the market of more than 200 euros offer 5G connectivity, while the cheapest ones only offer 4G. This is a detail that, at present, may not be too important, but as of next year it will be.
In 2022, the massive activation of 5G SA will begin, which will use its own infrastructures without depending on 4G . All this will allow faster connections, with greater capacity, and lower latency. But perhaps the most important thing will be the scope of the coverage, since only with a mobile with 5G connectivity will you be able to reach the frequencies of 700 MHz .
With them, we will have more coverage than ever in Spain , since it is the band that has the most reach. Speed will not be its strong point, but in return we will be able to have mobile coverage where we did not have it before, enjoying greater penetration in buildings, and greater range in open fields.
Therefore, if you buy a mobile phone now, it will last you at least two or three years. To avoid having to change it as soon as 5G coverage begins to expand massively between now and 2025, it is best that you choose one with 5G from the beginning, even if it may cost you 50 or 100 euros more.
WiFi 6, another almost essential improvement
In the case of WiFi 6 , the new standard is a technological marvel, as it introduces numerous improvements over WiFi 5 , offering lower latency, greater stability, higher speed and better capacity. It improves everything, and there are more and more computers and mobiles compatible with this connectivity.
The WiFi 6 has OFDMA , which has the advantage of being able to divide the wireless channels into small sub-channels , being able to direct each of them to a specific device. In turn, we have improvements in MU-MIMO , where with WiFi 5 it was possible for the router to communicate with several devices at the same time, but these were not responding at the same time. With WiFi 6 they do respond at the same time, so with the new standard they can communicate with more devices at the same time without interruptions.
In turn, transmission capacity is also improved thanks to BSS Coloring , where devices can identify which frequencies are more or less saturated, improving the range. Finally, we also have 1024-QAM , with greater data compression efficiency in each send, which increases the transmission speed. Thanks to all this, the cheapest WiFi 6 routers reach speeds of 1,800 Mbps in the cheapest ones, and more than 10,000 in the most expensive ones. With WiFi 5, the minimum speed is 1,200 Mbps, and where the 2.4 GHz band continues to use WiFi 4. That band, with WiFi 6, allows you to reach higher speed thanks to technological innovations, hence you will notice a Major improvement with any WiFi 6 router versus using one with WiFi 5.
For all this, make sure that the mobile, tablet, computer or router that you are going to buy next year also has WiFi 6. If you buy it in 2022, you will also have the advantage that all your new purchases will have 3 years of warranty compared to the 2 years they cost now.
