Your top 5G questions answered

With the launch of the next generation of mobile data, 5G will undoubtedly accelerate digital transformation and IoT applications for both businesses and consumers alike. In order to help you better understand 5G, we have compiled the top three questions and answers surrounding the fifth generation of mobile data:

How does 5G differ from 4G?

The primary difference between 4G and 5G lies in the underlying technology. 5G is set to be smarter, faster and much more efficient than 4G; with mobile data speeds that significantly exceed even the fastest home broadband network currently available to consumers. 5G promises device speeds around 10 times faster than 4G, with data transfer of less than 20 milliseconds as standard. The main reason for the upgraded network is to support the growing number of devices that demand internet access, many of them requiring far more bandwidth than 4G could deliver.

5G is also the gateway for the Internet of Things connected world at scale. Later iterations of 5G networking are expected to be revolutionary for data-driven industries, smart cities and infrastructure management, as well as being the supporting network for autonomous vehicles.

Put simply, 5G uses different kinds of antennas and operates on a different radio spectrum frequency, as well as having the ability to connect many more devices to the internet; ultimately minimizing delays and delivering ultrafast speeds.

Why is 5G so fast?

One of the key differentiators with 5G is about its super-fast speed. 5G is expected to reach speeds in excess of 1Gb/s and has the capability to reduce latency. To put this into perspective, an average HD film takes one day to download on 3G and around ten minutes with 4G. With 5G, you could be watching a film in as little as five seconds.

Thanks to the advanced technology that 5G brings, this means that information can be sent in a much more efficient way and with the support of higher frequencies, there is more available bandwidth for the information to be sent – both of these working together means a significantly faster network.

And this is just the beginning. As 5G evolves, becomes less dependent on the 4G infrastructure, and more spectrum becomes available, we can expect to see faster speeds.

What does 5G mean for mobile devices?

5G will change everything, particularly how we use our mobile devices and applications. Websites will load faster, videos will stream quicker, online multiplayer games will stop lagging and you will even see a much smoother and realistic video when using applications such as FaceTime or Skype.

Just a few of the other exciting use cases that 5G will bring include holographic calls and 8K video streaming as well as live streaming events in virtual reality and mainstream autonomous vehicles. 5G will also make it much easier to experience augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality on mobile applications, due it’s low latency, incredible speed and huge capacity. And, thanks to the sheer power of 5G, extended reality (XR) experiences aren’t too far off becoming a reality. XR refers to all real and virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables.

5G is so much more than just an upgrade from 4G – it is driving the digital revolution.

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