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2G had better coverage than 3G
3G has better coverage than 4G LTE
4G LTE will have better coverage than 5G

How about next time we wait until current standards have the same coverage as previous standards * before * we cast the old ones aside?

@realcaseyrollins T-mobile still provides 2G service (shutting down this year) and 3G is still available globally multiple providers.

@yuri
Fair enough. But 3G's days are numbered, and 4G LTE's coverage is nowhere close to 3G.

@realcaseyrollins So? We shouldn't exploit new technology until it's already ubiquitous? Why?

@yuri
No; we should not tear down the infrastructure of an old platform before newer platforms reach ubiquity, because this removes network support entirely for many users, as there will be unfilled gaps in coverage.

@realcaseyrollins Are there examples you can point to of this actually happening?
@realcaseyrollins I don't see how that supports your position, but ok.
@realcaseyrollins
I don't think that would be reasonable, considering the frequency differences, and thereby the signal range, of each generation. It only took a single tower to broadcast television, 70 years ago. It takes one 4G tower described as a tree every 4 blocks to get the same coverage, and multiple 5G transmitters per block to get the same coverage still.

@sev
So eventually there will just be swaths of dead zones when everything is replaced by newer protocols? This is precisely what I don't want to see.

@realcaseyrollins I suspect what we’re going to see for the short future is 5G rolled out in dense cities where it will get the most use and optimizations applied to the 4G LTE network, until they’re able to find a better delivery mechanism (having a phone “router” in your home, if you’re rural, for example).

Centralization is a huge limiting factor for US telecoms.

@realcaseyrollins noo you don't understand, rich people living in densely-populated areas /need/ to be able to watch 16K netflix on their smartphones

@tuxcrafting
I'm not opposed to that, but don't kill protocols that have wonderful coverage because this other protocol with pitiful coverage lets you stream 16K. We can have both.

@realcaseyrollins Yeah, but how will the CCP get their spyware into the homes of the world?

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