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As you learn about the latest cellular technology, you may wonder how much faster 5G is than 4G. 5G is the latest generation of network technology that will enable a host of new technologies and may very well bring us into the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Currently with the devices many use today, 4G LTE is the fastest mobile technology available in most areas of the United States, with download speeds 10 times faster than its predecessor 3G. Since the late 2000s, 4G has supported high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing and more. Speeds on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, on the other hand, could ultimately reach up to 10 Gbps. (Compare that to the speeds of the earliest cell technology: 1G networks reached around 2.4 Kbps.)
5G will help support the Internet of Things in ways that 4G and 4G LTE cannot. Experts have been estimating that up to 24 billion devices will need cellular network support around the world by 2024. Verizon’s Ultra Wideband network is designed to help support this boom in connected devices.
How Much Better is 5G Than 4G?
Some examples in which Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband can outperform previous generations of cellular technology include:
- Streaming 4K movies with almost no buffering
- Video chatting with friends, family and colleagues with virtually no lag time
- Playing console-quality multi-player games on your phone
- Downloading files in seconds that used to take minutes
- Using near real-time augmented reality applications
4G uses a lower frequency spectrum, to deliver data at fast speeds. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, however, is based on higher frequencies, or millimeter wave technology. These frequencies can carry huge amounts of data at very high speeds, so its bandwidth will have the capacity for the increasing number of devices in need of access.
5G Ultra Wideband has potential for powering data-intensive applications like connected homes, autonomous vehicles, telemedicine, traffic management, entertainment, education and more. Higher capacity from 5G will help support nearly seamless digital interactions among all the devices on the network. 5G’s greatly reduced latency, or lag time, will mean your wait time is greatly reduced for gaming, video streaming and downloading.
Combine the reduced latency, greater bandwidth and overall speed of 5G Ultra Wideband, and you’ve got a huge technological improvement in cellular networks that will empower the future.
