I'm not so sure of that; I believe it'll be transmitting at the same power as 4G. If they utilize existing spectrum and repurpose it for 5G, then it should travel relatively the same distance. Carriers are also petitioning the FCC to allow more radiated power, at the antenna, to help boost coverage and especially to ensure millimeter wave can actually do its job.
Either case, I'm fairly confident to say 4G will exist alongside 5G for years and years. 1xRTT (for CDMA areas anyway) is still operated and maintained, and it's been around for nearly 20 years.
Even rural areas will get benefit, it just won't be as huge; a 20-35% increase in bandwidth isn't particularly stellar, but it is still an improvement---the real improvement is the touted benefits latency reduction, with promises that this will finally be the generation that has landline like latency (I won't hold my breath on this one, but 4G -> 3G did seem to improve things by 40-50% from my testing...so if we got that kind of improvement again, or better, then it'd be within the ballpark of what landline is).
More power output will help but there are a lot of factors working against us rural folks.
Currently the true speed capabilities of 4G and 4G LTE are already not even what they are advertised to be and it gets even worse when you get out in the sticks and I predicted this reality when 4G came out. As it is now with 4G LTE, true LTE service is fringe in rural areas sometimes not even available. And since a 5G higher frequency shorter wave length is even more susceptible to being obstructed by physical mass and does not travel as far this reality is going to get worse. This is why 5G requires more towers closer together to provide the same coverage as 4G has now. Even with more output from existing towers truly getting the capability is going to be very limited if you are indoors or behind buildings blocking "line of site" to the tower.
It will also be much more affected by weather such as snow, heavy rain, dust storms, or even just high winds because of wind the static. 5G is also more susceptible to decreased performance concerning number of devices. So the number of devices your one local tower is now handling at 4G is going to affect the capability of 5G even more and just reduce it back down to 4G speeds anyway. 5G requires more infrastructure and equipment to handle the same amount of devices and bandwidth within a coverage area to actually provide true 5G capability.
If we get it at all on the current tower density there will be a renewed trend of front porch sitting because that will be the only place it might work. It will indeed require more towers to be put up in order to replace current 4G coverage, and the carriers are just not going to spend the money to do this in rural areas. They absolutely do not care if rural folks can take full advantage of a service or not. Not enough customers and demand to spend the money on. But you can bet that the service contracts will be "one size fits all, take it or leave it" that includes pricing for 5G capability that most rural folks will not even be able to take advantage of. And you can also bet they will force everyone to buy new 5G capable phones whether they can take advantage of 5G or not, remember when AT&T and Verizon forced all their customers to do this when they went from 3G to 4G? Crooked bastards.
Even the recent tests they have conducted in the city with what they thought was enough tower coverage and power were spotty and insufficient compared to 4G...
"Starting with the Verizon store on Michigan Avenue, Dolcourt tested the 5G node, and the results were mixed. She experienced intermittent 5G connectivity, often resorting to switching in and out of Airplane Mode to get the network to connect.
Unable to get a clean comparison test in the store, Dolcourt moved onto round two of testing at the Merchandise Mart, which is also the headquarters for Motorola. Across the street just outside of the Shamrock Club is another 5G node. While the speed tests were better, Dolcourt found that downloading the large PUBG app took six minutes, indicating that the phone was not receiving 5G speeds—the download time was the same as that of the 4G network.
For the third round of testing, Dolcourt utilized the 5G node right outside of the Chicago Art Institute. Standing directly underneath the node, she described the 5G service as "flickering," and even though she received 5G-level speeds during the speed test, the network completely stalled when she tried to download an episode from the Netflix app. Removing the 5G mod, Dolcourt tested the 4G network to see if it fared better but experienced the same issue.
The final test took place a couple blocks away from the famous Chicago Theater. Dolcourt conducted her tests in the same manner, but was unable to connect to the 5G network at all, despite standing directly beneath the node. She made several attempts to connect: Toggling in and out of Airplane Mode four times, removing and reattaching the 5G mod, only to discover that the mod had 0% power, meaning there was no way for her to connect. In this case, the node might not have been the issue, and there is no way to know how it would have performed during testing.
Here's what she said about how the testing went: "Not very well, actually. It was more like a wild goose chase. But remember: This network is only one-day old, so I wasn't expecting this to be amazing speeds with absolutely no problems whatsoever. But it was basically a complete and utter disaster, unfortunately." Dolcourt predicted that even a year from now, 5G phones will not be the norm, as not all cities or areas of cities will have coverage."
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/testing-verizons-new-5g-network-in-chicago/
"Walking around Chicago, we saw how fleeting 5G connectivity can be. It’s roughly a third of a mile from the Verizon Store on the Magnificent Mile to the CTA station at State and Chicago. Once we left the store, we never saw the 5G UWB logo flash up on our phone.
Some of the test sites where we had the most stable 5G connections proved how fleeting 5G connectivity can be at this point in its development. Standing on the steps of the Merchandise Mart, we enjoyed a fairly stable connection. But when we walked 13 paces to a sign with the Motorola logo, the logo on our phone fluctuated between LTE and 5G. By the time we crossed the street to the front of the Kenzie Chophouse, the 5G signal was gone.
It was a similar story at Ontario and Wells. Right outside of Al’s Beef, 5G connectivity was fleeting. It was stronger across the street though, with the signal becoming more consistent in the middle of the crosswalk. (We do not advise standing in the middle of Ontario Street to test 5G networks.)
Verizon is using mmWave technology for its 5G network which depends heavily on line of sight. Coverage figures to improve over time, as Verizon builds out its 5G network in this city and elsewhere — the carrier plans to launch 5G in 30 cities by the end of 2019. But if you’re expecting ubiquitous 5G coverage at this point, you’re going to be disappointed, something Verizon itself would readily acknowledge."
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/verizon-5g-speed-test,news-29802.html
How Will 5G Use New Cell Towers?
In order to provide 5G service on a large scale, carriers will need to add at least 250,000 new small cell sites nationwide. However, though these small cell technologies perform similar functions, they’re not your typical cell tower.
While most current cell towers are large, freestanding behemoths, the cell towers of the future are smaller devices which companies aim to mount onto lampposts, rooftops, traffic lights and other appropriate spots around cities and towns.
Because 5G uses shorter radio wavelengths, the towers needed to pick them up can be smaller than their predecessors. This makes them easier to place in great numbers. However, these new cell towers are also causing conflict between telecom companies and local governments and municipalities, since they need to be installed on a large amount public property.
The location and appearance of new 5G cell sites in your area will likely depend on your local government’s negotiations with service providers — unless, of course, you live in one of the 13 states which have passed legislation restricting local oversight of 5G infrastructure.
Will Traditional Cell Towers Be Replaced?
The answer to this question, at least for now, remains “no.” It seems most traditional cell phone towers will remain active for the foreseeable future.
Some carriers will upgrade existing cell towers for use with 5G signals, effectively integrating current infrastructure into the new system. These existing towers could especially help transmit signals through rural locations where very few objects stand in the way.
However, it’s important to note that existing cell towers may also continue transmitting 4G signals to areas without 5G service. Though companies expect 5G to increase coverage overall, 5G won’t launch everywhere immediately.
Urban areas, like the cities companies are currently using as test sites for the technology, will likely benefit from 5G before more rural areas. Some communities with very low populations may not see 5G service for some time due to the high cost of setting up several smaller 5G “towers” to serve a low population area. Because of this, existing cell towers and other communication infrastructure will remain essential for keeping people connected to the rest of the world.
Eventually, it’s possible that cell phone towers will become obsolete. After all, some companies are already developing direct device-to-device mobile connections, which could eliminate the need for bulky cell phone towers altogether. Whatever the future holds, the transition will occur slowly.
https://www.thewhizcells.com/will-cell-towers-become-obsolete-with-5g/
