Re: I'm somewhat miffed
There are two 5G specs - 5G sub-6GHz and mmwave.
5G sub-6GHz can use all the 4G frequencies and more. it has thus the same range properties and can be seen as a drop-in replacement for 4G.
mmwave is what you are talking about with restricted range - this indeed needs all the repeaters, backhaul and what not. It is meant for limited deployment in my opinion, think stadiums, subways, airports, indoor malls etc. Outdooors perhaps where there is very heavy footfall. This is where scepticism of the 5G marketing hype is warranted IMo - uniquitous mmwave is a long way away.
But that is not license to start ignoring the actual benefits of 5G, and falling victim to misplaced cynicism.
efficiency per bit transferred is a complex topic - you could be more efficient with a slower data rate for eg, but that does not meet the expectations and requirements. similarly quantifying band congestion versus justifiable power usage are not trivial outcomes to determine.
The power consumption here is not because of the 5G specification, every spec revision improves on cell capacity and throughput efficiency as the modems can take on more computing power.
The power consumption in this case is because coverage is scant and so it has to keep legacy connection alive in parallel for voice and texts. This was true for 4G as well in its early days. Very few people will be happy with just 3G coverage today.
I am certain people will be unhappy with just having 4G coverage in time.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
