But low-frequency, high-range bands are available with 5G, too. It's a matter of policy and deployment strategy if you use these bands for 4G, 5G wide area coverage.
Some countries will continue having 2G on these Higher range bands. Others will re-use the bands for 5G.
So far, it's about public networks. You can use network technologies like 5G to roll your own network, too. The vendors market turn-key solutions for emergency services, e.g. a basestation on top of the firefighters truck.
But it adds a dedicated frequency range for emergency services, so when shit hits the fan, and everybody is calling everybody, the emergency workers can still communicate.
Compared to TETRA, pretty much everything is an upgrade.
Cool. Now if only Verizon's commercials were about that, and not claiming that the short-distance part of the network is going to revolutionize emergency services on an everyday basis.
But the fast part is what they want to advertise, so who cares about accuracy.
We're nerds on a tech nerd forum, so we care. But HN isn't a good reflection of society, or even STEM.
... the infrastructure that mobile phones and the internet depend on, will be non-operational.
It's 'wonderful' having a laptop or mobile phone when those things have nothing to connect to.
Spend a bit of time in places where your phone says 'no coverage' and you'll understand just what a great paper-weight it can be. <grin>
Even after the Boston bombing, the people there couldnt get/take calls, because the network was flooded with other people calling.
Mobile networks survive most of the "shits hitting the fans", but usually the sheer amount of calls to/from that area makes them useless for emergency communication (unless you get a dedicated channel... or have "QoS" set up very very well)
You are comparing two different things here AFAICT.
5G is a cell phone standard, and the dedicated frequency range you are referring to is used by something like the (LTE-based) FirstNet.
TETRA is a non-phone based protocol, and it is more comparable to the Public 25 radio system.
5G is set to replace tetra, with dedicated frequencies for emergency services, and those features implemented - so this will become the "mobile phone", using dedicated frequencies on current basestations, while the data in the backend will be transfered via 5G standards (with additional moficiations for PTT and group talk).
So yes, the technology behind is different, but the usecase will be the same.
This depends on the frequencies used.
Marques ("MKBHD") Brownlee has a good video on this: