Your Smartphone Connection Will be a Speed Demon with 5G
by Samara Lynn

June 29, 2016

Your Smartphone Connection Will be a Speed Demon with 5G

Connecting smartphones, tablets and other devices to mobile networks is about to get 10 to 100 times faster. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote July 14 on new rules to implement next-generation high-speed 5G wireless applications, the panel’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, said on Monday, reports Reuters. 

 

What is 5G?

 


Currently, most mobile devices can connect wirelessly to cellular networks using 4G or 4G LTE connections. 5G is the next advancement in cellular network connectivity. It’s much faster and, just as importantly, can handle more devices connected at one time to deliver good performance to all those devices, more so than 4G.

The ability of 5G to manage multiple device connections at one time (and “multiple,” meaning thousands and thousands of devices on a network) is critical as the Internet of Things becomes the standard.

Just about any common household device imaginable is being engineered to connect to the Internet. Ovens, refrigerators, thermometers, door locks, and even automobiles are being made to connect to the Internet so users can remotely manage them or integrate these objects with apps.

5G is cellular data that differs from Wi-Fi, which typically means a wireless device that uses the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz radio spectrum for connectivity, Wi-Fi connections have broadband such as FIOS or cable as their back-end connection method to the Internet and are separate from cellular networks.

The difference is the reason why you can switch your phone, for example, to connect either to a Wi-Fi network, or through your cellular/mobile data plan.

 

America Leads Adoption

 


After 5G rules are voted on in July, the United States will be the first nation to move forward with 5G technology.

“If the Commission approves my proposal next month, the United States will be the first country in the world to open up high-band spectrum for 5G networks and applications. And that’s damn important because it means U.S. companies will be first out of the gate.,” said chairman Wheeler during his remarks at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C. 


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