While telecom companies have yet to finalize the rollout of 5G connectivity, China is already leading the next advancement in the wireless technology space. China Mobile, a state-owned Chinese enterprise, has recently announced the commercial launch of its 5.5G network.
But what exactly is 5.5G, and how is it different from the standard 5G network? This post has everything you need to know about 5.5G.
Also Read: Xiaomi 14 Ultra achieves 5 Gbps mobile network speed with 5.5G
What Is 5.5G and How Is It Better Than 5G?
Simply put, 5.5G is the advanced version of the 5G network. It’s also known as 5G-Advanced or 5GA.
Did You Know:
The 4G LTE network that exists today is nothing but the advanced version of the 4G connectivity with better speed and latency. It’s also known as 4.5G or 4G-Advanced.
4.5G is built upon the standard 4G network. Similarly, 5.5G also uses the standard 5G network, but the improvements it brings to the latency and speed are significant.
The 5.5G network promises big improvements over the standard 5G network. It can offer a download speed of up to 10Gbps, and the upload speed can reach up to 1Gbps.
While 5G has nearly satisfied smartphone needs by offering better download and upload speeds, it has failed to make a bold impact in the industrial space, where applications need lower latency, super-fast uploads, extra security, reliable performance, and lower power consumption, among other things.
5.5G could bridge those gaps and will serve as a crucial link towards 6G.
Now, you might be wondering when this new network technology will roll out and if I will have to get a new device to test it out. Check out the next section below for answers.
5.5G Rollout and Supported Devices
China Mobile is the first to announce the 5.5G rollout. According to the telecom giant, it will cover more than 300 cities with its 5.5G network by the end of this year.
No other telecom company has announced its 5.5G rollout plans, as I write this post. We’ll have to wait and see when it starts rolling out outside China. Notably, AT&T President Chris Samber expressed excitement for 5.5G a couple of months back, but we are not looking at it before 2025.
While it’s too early to say if all 5G smartphones will support 5.5G, one thing for sure is that not everyone will require a new phone. Recently, Pete Lau, OPPO’s Product Chief Officer, posted a teaser showing the OPPO Find X7 Ultra displaying “5GA” in its status bar.
There’s a related Weibo post suggesting that the vanilla Oppo Find X7 will also gain 5.5G capability. This makes OPPO Find X7 series the world’s first phones to support the 5.5G network.
The Find X7 Ultra has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset at its core, which is also found inside the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12, and Xiaomi 14 series. Vivo X100 Pro and OPPO Find X7 powered by the Dimensity 9300 chipset are also confirmed to receive the 5.5G support. That means 5.5G should at least be supported by devices powered by any of these two chipsets.
