Month: January 2020

5G: The Race is On

In the United States, the four main wireless carriers are rolling out 5G services. Find out what they are offering and how fast their 5G service might be.

The race to 5G has started in earnest around the world. In the United States, the four main wireless carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon — are rolling out 5G services.

Although 5G has several important advantages over 4G (e.g., lower latency, more bandwidth), the main selling point the carriers are touting is 5G’s fast speed. How fast is it? Surprisingly, that is a tough question to answer. Many factors affect the speed of a 5G connection, such as how the signals are being transmitted and the type of compression technology being employed. The most important factor, though, is the frequency band being used.

The 5G Frequency Bands

Like its predecessors, 5G uses radio waves, which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio waves have different frequencies. The radio waves being used to deliver 5G cellular service fall into three frequency bands:

• Low band
• Mid band, which is sometimes referred to as the sub-6 GHz (0r sub 6) band because the frequencies are less than 6 gigahertz (GHz)
• High band, which is often referred to as the millimeter wave (mmWave) band because the wavelengths range from 1 to 10 millimeters

The radio waves in these three frequency bands have different traits, as Table 1 shows. In general, radio waves with higher frequencies are faster than radio waves with lower frequencies, but the speed comes at a price. Radio waves with higher frequencies have a shorter range than radio waves with lower-frequencies. For example, mmWaves have the fastest speeds, but their range is only a mile or less. Plus, they cannot easily travel through some objects such as buildings, according to IEEE. They can even be absorbed by foliage and rain – a phenomenon known as rain fade.

Table 1. Comparison of the 5G Frequency Bands in the United States

Wireless carriers are using various technologies to offset the mmWave limitations. For example, they are using beamforming, small cells, and massive MIMO to deal with its short ranges and inability to travel through buildings.

The Carriers and Their Bands

Eventually, all four major wireless carriers might include all three frequency bands in their 5G services, but that is not the case right now. Here are the types of 5G coverage they decided to offer in the short term and how far along they are in providing it:

• Verizon is concentrating on providing high-band 5G coverage. It has already rolled it out to consumers in more than 30 cities. In addition, it has set up high-band 5G networks at several business locations, including a shipyard and 16 football stadiums.
• T-Mobile has rolled out low-band 5G coverage to more than 200 million people nationwide in December 2019. It is planning to add mid-band coverage if its merger with Sprint goes through.
• Sprint has rolled out both low-band and mid-band 5G coverage to consumers in nine cities.
• AT&T is providing high-band coverage to densely populated areas in 21 cities. That number will rise to 30 in early 2020. For suburban and rural locations, it is in the process of rolling out low-band coverage nationwide.

This is only a snapshot of the current 5G services being offered by the four wireless carriers. The numbers and locations covered will no doubt change as the 5G race continues in the next few years.

It is important to keep in mind that a lot of existing and new technologies are involved in providing 5G services (especially when using mmWaves), so there will likely be bumps along the way. For example, when mmWave coverage is first introduced in a city, there might be good coverage in one area (e.g., downtown) but spotty coverage in other areas.

Keep the Bands in Mind

If you are interested in getting a 5G mobile device for personal or business use, it is important to do your homework first. You need to research the carriers to find out what 5G frequency bands they use, where their cell towers are located (now and in the near future), and the mobile devices they offer. That way, you can select a 5G service that best meets your needs.

5G Netzwerk Geschwindigkeit – orange ts – it flickr photo by Christoph Scholz shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

by powerone

Here’s What You Can Do If You Aren’t Ready to Say Goodbye to Windows 7

Windows 7 is reaching the end of its life cycle on January 14, 2020. Here are your options if you want to keep using it.

The sun is setting on Windows 7. If you are still using this old but reliable workhorse in your business, it might be time to say goodbye and let it ride off into the sunset. However, that’s not always an option.

Although you can still use Windows 7 after it reaches the end of it life cycle on January 14, 2020, it is risky to do so. That’s because Microsoft will no longer provide free security updates or product support for this operating system or its built-in web browser, Internet Explorer. Using unpatched software will leave your business’s computers more susceptible to cyberattacks.

Fortunately, Microsoft is offering several options for companies still using Windows 7 when it reaches the end of its lifecycle. The options include:

• Purchasing Extended Security Updates
• Using Microsoft’s Windows Virtual Desktop service

Extended Security Updates

Microsoft is offering Extended Security Updates to any business using Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise through January 2023. You do not need to have a volume licensing agreement to take advantage of this offer.

You can purchase Extended Security Updates through Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider program. The updates, which will be delivered through the normal update delivery processes, will include patches for security issues discovered in the operating system and its components (including Internet Explorer). They will not include any bug fixes (i.e., patches for non-security issues such as glitchy functions), feature enhancements, or technical support.

The Extended Security Updates are sold on a per-device basis, so you only have to purchase the updates for the computers that need them. Similarly, you only have to purchase the updates for the timespan needed, as the updates will be sold in three 12-month increments (2020, 2021, and 2022). For instance, if you plan on updating your computers in 2021, you can purchase security updates for 2020 only. However, the security updates are cumulative, so continuous coverage is necessary. This means that you cannot, for example, just pay for the 2022 updates. If you buy the updates for the first time in the second or third year, you will have to pay for the preceding years.

Microsoft has not publicly released the price list, but sources note that the Extended Security Updates for Windows 7 Enterprise will cost $25 per device the first year, $50 per device the second year, and $100 per device the third year. Updates for Windows 7 Pro will cost $50 per device the first year, $100 per device the second, and $200 per device the third year.

Windows Virtual Desktop Service

Windows Virtual Desktop is a desktop and app virtualization service that runs in the Microsoft Azure cloud. You can virtualize Windows 7 and Windows 10 desktops as well as Microsoft and third-party apps.

Businesses virtualizing Windows 7 desktops will be provided with free Extended Security Updates through January 2023, according to Microsoft. Not having to worry about annual increases in fees for these updates means you will feel less pressured to rush through a migration. Plus, as desktops are upgraded, you will be able to manage both the Windows 7 and Windows 10 desktops using a unified management approach.

Being able to virtualize Windows 7 desktops can also come in handy if you have migrated to Windows 10, but have a few computers you cannot upgrade because the machines are running legacy business apps that are incompatible with Windows 10. With Windows Virtual Desktop, you can keep your Windows 10 computers local while running your legacy apps on virtualized Windows 7 desktops in the cloud.

You can use Windows Virtual Desktop to access Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 10 Enterprise desktops and apps for no additional cost if you have one of the eligible licenses. You can find out which licenses are eligible on the “Windows Virtual Desktop pricing” web page.

To use Windows Virtual Desktop, you also need to have an Azure subscription. In addition, you need to have Azure Active Directory that is in sync with Windows Server Active Directory through either Azure AD Connect or Azure AD Domain Services.

Need More Information or Advice?

If your business is still using Windows 7, we can go over your options in more detail so you can make the best choice for your business based on its needs. Afterward, we will help you carry out that decision.

“Windows 7 – Splash Screen” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Brent Schmidt

by powerone