Do you have a “5G” service? It’s ceaselessly promoted as the mobile phone standard. Over the last two decade, the mobile phone market has been transformed, moving steadily from the earliest “1st generation” to today’s “5th generation.” Americans are being told that the present is 5G and the future is 6G.
Americans use millions of wireless phones and devices. According to the CTIA, the wireless industry trade association, in 2021 there were 469 million mobile wireless devices in use and, of these, 190 million were connected devices that included smartphones, laptops, tablets, watches and in cars. The 2020 U.S. Census reports the population at 331 million, that’s 1.4 wireless devices per person.
Sadly, 5G has very little to do with the actual public benefits of wireless technology, especially as a “mobile” service that facilitates our hectic, postmodern lifestyles. While “5G” has been a great marketing term to signal the wonderful future promised by a new technology, it’s really has served two purposes: (i) to get rid of both federal and state communications legislation and regulation and (ii) to replace copper networks not with fiber but more profitable – and inferior
— source counterpunch.org | David Rosen | Sep 13, 2023