But this also means that the waves can not travel as far. Hence the need for more hardware to ensure that the signals get to where they are supposed to go:
⌾ Router: as a typical home may have 20+ devices sending and receiving signals (waves), a router organizes the digital traffic so that the signal can successfully get from a device to the internet and back
⌾ Modem: connects the signal requests from the router to the internet
⌾ Home Hubs: an all-in-1 [router + modem]
⌾ Cells, Macro cells, Back-hauls, Nodes: a complex infrastructure that allows for the transmission and reception of data from globally interconnected networks (the internet)
WiFi signals are transmitted from the modem, over fiber optic cables, to antennae that transmit and receive data from the internet.
XG - Xth Generation Cellular Networks
Roughly every 10 years or so a new generation of wireless networks has rolled out. Right now we are in the 5G stage. The idea is that download speeds and overall efficiency should increase with each generation.
This is critical because of two facts:
⌾ There is a finite amount of data that can be processed at any given point on the spectrum (bandwidth).
⌾ Worldwide, we are using exponentially more and more data.
To meet this need with 5G, we have moved further to the right on the electromagnetic spectrum to get more bandwidth.
Consequently, there are certain implications to keep in mind:
⌾ As the wavelength gets smaller, the frequency gets larger. This means that you can send more data quickly (faster download speeds) but less far.