The federal government is already taking steps to protect the country during the switch to 5G by working to set up semiconductor manufacturing plants in the U.S. A motivated and technologically savvy adversary could exploit the connectivity on the 5G network and take malicious actions against government officials, or on both the virtual and physical battlefields. Governments also need to be aware of 5G concerns.

“The best way to protect your devices on 5G is the same way we protect our computers now, with security software and updates,” said Wyglinski. However, the issues with those vulnerabilities can be solved. Since 5G is cheaper, more connected, and more capable, if a hacker finds a vulnerability in 5G, there could be as many as billions of devices to which they could gain access. 5G’s innovations could also make it more open to cyber attacks.

However, millimeter wave’s capabilities are short-range.ĥG concerns include potential invasions of privacy and concerns related to cyber security.ĥG makes connectivity and the ability to be tracked much more ubiquitous. 4G and 3G did not use these bands, and the bands have extremely high data rates-gigabits per second-which is the equivalent of a CD or DVD’s worth of data being transmitted in seconds. It takes 4G technology to another level, and that’s what makes 5G evolutionary and a game changer at the same time,” said Alex Wyglinski, WPI Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering.ĥG also works through another technology called millimeter wave, which uses a separate set of frequency bands. Now they can do all that, but with clear, seamless connectivity. In those bands, there’s enough frequency to support the higher data rates that people have come to expect-whether they’re streaming video, doing virtual reality on their phones.

“Those frequency bands are game changers for 5G because 4G and 3G never had access to those frequency bands. The frequency bands that have been allocated are referred to as “mid-band frequencies.” The FCC started holding “frequency auctions” in 2011 to allow companies to gain access to those frequency bands across the United States. However, 5G has the added benefit that several new frequency bands have been opened up for 5G access. There are multiple ways that 5G works to connect us all.Ī cell phone and a 5G bay station make a wireless connection, and that wireless connection happens across a frequency band-something most people are familiar with from an FM or AM radio.

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