What is the Latency of 5G?

The benefits of 5G are clear when taking into account the speed, bandwidth and the latency of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. 5G technology will open a world of opportunities for the growth of technology, in part because of the low latency of the network.

What is network latency?

Network latency is the time required for a set of data to travel between two points. 5G technology is different from previous generations of cellular technology because of how short that amount of time will be.

A network with high latency can be inefficient for some users. Gamers may be familiar with high network latency that results in lag, which looks like an obvious delay between the action of the players and the actual responses within the game.

Network latency is caused by a variety of factors, including the speed of the network as well as the available bandwidth and the size of the transmitted data. Generally speaking, the latency of 5G is faster than the blink of an eye. 5G will enable users to send and download huge amounts of data in near real time.  This will also happen at speeds that were almost unimaginable just a few years ago.

Verizon's 5G latency

Low latency is one of the necessary conditions for the fulfillment of massive IoT, which is expected to help heavy industry and big data enterprises to expand, innovate and globally scale their operations.

With that being said, early users of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network in Chicago and Minneapolis reported peak speeds of nearly 1 Gbps and latency less than 30 milliseconds, 23 milliseconds faster than average 4G metrics. Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network’s speed, latency and network performance will become available to more and more customers as we continue to build out 5G networks in additional cities around the country.

Benefits of low 5G latency

The low latency of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network could enable huge technological innovations. For instance, the near real time ability for connecting people to data should lead to improved 3D imagery, holograms, virtual reality and augmented reality. 5G’s low latency could also benefit public safety and security: First responders should have faster access to critical information necessary to perform their life saving efforts.

5G latency is just one of the many important aspects of the new generation of cellular technology. Be sure to learn more about all that 5G entails.