It seems there’s always some new technological change happening and it can be a bit daunting to keep up. The fifth generation or “5G” is the latest and greatest wireless technology breakthrough has already had the world buzzing, and if you haven’t heard of it before, then get ready for nonstop chatter.
There’s a reason why 5G has the spotlight, it’s absolutely unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. 5G is going to bring you the fastest speeds on your devices that you’ve ever seen in addition to a mind-blowing latency of just one millisecond. It’s wireless technology that’s as close as instantaneous as you can get, and it’s going to change the way you connect with your world. When will you use it though? Let’s take a deeper look.
The reason 5G is so special, is because it operates on an unused high-band spectrum that is untouched by 4G LTE and 3G. Because of this, 5G can deliver speeds as high as 20 Gbps and a latency of one millisecond. In comparison, 4G tops out at 1 Gbps with a 20 second millisecond latency. This next generation network is live in various locations in a few select cities and will have broader coverage across the U.S. by 2022. If you live in a more rural area, you’ll have very limited coverage, if any at all. Top carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and the newest carrier, DISH Network are working tirelessly to transition and build-out their existing networks into 5G capable services. 5G is no easy feat and is expected to take years to transition from 4G to 5G. It’s not just networks that have to change, manufacturers have to build new devices, phones- absolutely anything that connects to the internet will need be upgraded to use 5G. So if you don’t have 5G immediately, just know it’s coming!
Faster Speeds On Your Phone
5G is worth the hype alone because of what we know what it can do to impact your day-to-day and improve your overall quality of life. As this technology evolves, so will the applications. One of the first things you can expect to see is obviously a faster phone. Currently if you want to game or download a movie on your phone, you need to be connected to high-speed Wi-Fi at home — this is no longer the case with 5G. The data heavy games you enjoy from the comfort of your couch can now be played on-the-go with low latency. If you’re on the way to the airport and need some in-flight entertainment, you can download an entire HD season of your favorite show in seconds, not hours.
Self-Driving Cars Are No Longer Just in Movies
Self-driving cars have been trying to make their way to the roadways, but with 5G technology they could become a reality. Self-driving or autonomous cars, depend on high data speeds and a low latency because the vehicles need to be able to communicate with each other on an instantaneous basis. When one car stops, or switches lanes, the other vehicles will need to know so they can adjust accordingly.
Smart Cities
5G will have a huge impact on devices or inventions no doubt, but 5G will have a huge impact on our cities! 5G technologies can address air quality and energy consumption by creating smart cities. Think of how much time you sit in traffic with your car idling pushing out pollution into the air in addition to wasting fuel. 5G technology will give us the ability to build traffic control systems through sensors and cameras that can measure the number of cars on a roadway, allowing for more efficient light cycles that reduce traffic build up. Traffic jams could be a thing of the past! (Let’s all cheer extra loud for this one.)
5G will also impact the way we cool and heat our homes and offices. By utilizing smart systems that heat or cool based on occupancy, we can save on energy costs and usage.
Smart Homes
Take a quick look around your home, take note of what’s connected to the internet. This could be your phone, TV, gaming consoles, tablets, laptops, etc., all of these things need an internet connection to work. 5G’s impressive speed is definitely noteworthy, but another praise of 5G is its efficiency because it offers lower latency. Why does this matter? It matters because it means your 5G network can handle more devices using the internet bandwidth at once without sacrificing service.
Thinking back to all the devices you have connected in your home, what if you added a smart speaker to the mix? Or a home security system? Or a smart light bulb or sprinkler system? All of these things need a connection to function and your current internet will be too bogged down by too many devices using it to work properly. 5G will eliminate that because it can handle more connected devices than 4G LTE. So you can use 5G to build the smart home of your dreams.
Say Goodbye to Cables
One of the benefits to 5G is you won’t need your home wired for 5G internet access, depending on where you live. One of the perks of 5G is it can deliver high-speed internet to rural communities that don’t have wired access, but that does come with a caveat. Depending on your location or service provider, it may not be available in your area immediately, but most carriers are looking at 2020 to be the year 5G really emerges into the market.
In addition, instead of having a mess of cords, multiple boxes or other gadgets, your home internet will be simplified with less equipment and fewer cables.
All of the buzz around 5G isn’t just hype and will impact everything you do and interact with on a daily basis. Between faster phones, smarter homes and cities, it’s an exciting time to see what 5G will bring. The coolest thing, is what we don’t know because the possibilities of this new technology are endless.