If you thought you were tech savvy enough to know what the ‘G’ in 5G stands for, chances are you’re wrong.
The average cellphone user likely isn’t wracking their brain over the everyday tech term regarding data speed, but there is certainly a common misconception about the lone letter.
Further complicating matters, the ‘G’ in different data variations – such as 3G, 4G, 5G and 10G – do not all mean the same thing.
While ‘gigabyte’ seems like a safe assumption for what the G stands for, you’d only be correct about 10G.
A quick glimpse across social media proves that many people believe this is the case for all the data speeds.
But the G in 3G, 4G and of course, 5G actually all stand for ‘generation’.
The generation essentially applies to the different qualities of data you are connected to.
5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology.
If you thought you were tech savvy enough to know what the ‘G’ in 5G stands for, chances are you’re wrong (stock image)
But the G in 3G, 4G and of course, 5G all stand for ‘generation’ (stock image)
A quick glimpse across social media proves that many people believe this is the case for all the data speeds
The higher the number next to the G, the better the data, making 5G better than the earlier versions.
A recent post on X, formerly Twitter, by MTN Uganda – the largest telecom company in the country asked people ‘without Googling, what does the “G” in 4G and 5G stand for? A) Generation B) Gigabyte C) Google D) Grid.’
X users were quick to respond with a lot guessing gigabyte wrongly. Others offered their own guesses including ‘generator’, ‘God’ and ‘greed’.
5G wireless is now commonly used for smartphones and is better than the other generations at connecting to multiple devices at once.
But – adding another convoluted layer – 10G is not necessarily faster than 5G.
This is because the two Gs represent different concepts and therefore are not evenly comparable.
The evolution of the G system started in 1980 with the invention of the mobile phone which allowed for analogue data to be transmitted via phone calls.
Digital came into play in 1991 with 2G and SMS and MMS capabilities were launched.
An aerial view of a cellular tower stands on the top of a hill in Larkspur, California
The higher the number next to the G, the better the data, making 5G better than the earlier versions. A file photo of a woman on her phone
Since then, the capabilities and carrying capacity for the mobile network has increased massively.
More data can be transferred from one point to another via the mobile network quicker than ever.
5G debuted in South Korea in April 2019. During the Covid pandemic, US researchers investigated the effects of radio-frequency radiation generated by the ultra-fast mobile internet and revealed that it had negligible health impacts.
The study came after several 5G masts were vandalized during lockdowns following unfounded conspiracy theories saying the form of wireless communication caused Covid.
Theorists claimed the fifth-generation wireless standard emitted radiation that lowers the immune system.
Despite providing essential communications technology during the pandemic, 5G masts were subject to arson attacks throughout the UK.
In their research paper, published in PLOS ONE, the team wrote that the potential for health effects from higher radio-frequency radiation should be examined as concerns ‘over their potential health impacts are ongoing’.
To learn more, researchers conducted experiments using embryonic zebrafish, an organism often used to discover interactions between potential environmental stressors and biological systems.
Adult zebrafish in the lab. Around 70 per cent of human genes are found in zebrafish, according to scientists, which makes them well suited as lab models
The experimental set up used in the experiments for the study. It involves a box made of copper. The zebrafish embryos are placed on plates, which are put inside the box. The radiation enters the box through an antennae and the copper keeps it inside the box
A burned down mast in London during the pandemic that was attacked by conspiracy theorists
Around 70 percent of human genes are found in zebrafish, according to scientists, which makes them well suited as lab models.
Zebrafish and humans have similar developmental processes and are similar on a genomic level, meaning the results of experiments on them can be confidently applied to humans.
Dr Dasgupta and his colleagues exposed embryonic zebrafish for two days to 3.5 GHz radio-frequency radiation – the frequency typically used by 5G-enabled phones.
The zebrafish embryos were placed on plates, which were put inside a box made of copper dubbed ‘the exposure chamber’.
The radiation entered the box through an antennae and the copper kept the radiation from escaping.
The experts found no significant impacts on mortality, how the embryos formed or their behavioral response to light.
