We have been hearing about 5G internet for a long time now, and it is not just fast; it is a thousand times faster than 4G. Thus, when the 5G internet technology prevails, downloading 4K movies and games will only take a fraction of the time that the existing web technologies consume.
Until now, 4G LTE is widely being used for wireless mobile networks which will now evolve to 5G wireless networks which will offer some advanced applications, for instance, the home internet.
5G is not a thing of the future; the first 5G Home Routers were showcased by Verizon at the Mobile World Congress this year. The routers achieved an internet speed of 500 megabytes per second. To put the speed of 5G in perspective, you should know that the average internet speed in the US is only 6.5 megabytes per second. A web speed of 500 MB per second means that you can download a 100GB 4K movie in under four minutes.
The blazing fast 5G internet speed was, however, demonstrated in a scenario where the transmitting 5G cell was right next to the router. So, such speeds are possible only when there is no interference, obstacles or network congestion. Even if that is true, and in practice, we can only achieve half as much of the demonstrated speed of 4 GB per second; a speed of 2 GB per second is considerably faster than the average internet speed that we use today.
Even though internet speeds in GBs are nothing new; they still require a vast and expensive infrastructure to be laid down. So the 5G Internet service delivered wirelessly through millimeter waves, will eliminate the need for large networks of optical fibers while offering the fastest internet speeds possible.
Verizon may have been the first one to demonstrate the technology, but a startup named Starry has already developed the concept which is now under testing in Boston.
The 5G Wireless Internet technology is out, but it has not made it to the market yet. We do hope that whenever it does enter the market, the new technology will be offered at cheap rates to ensure affordability.
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