5G is the latest generation of high-speed wireless internet. It surpasses 4G’s speeds by at least ten times and is, in fact, faster than what most people get with their wired broadband home internet.
While that certainly sounds impressive, it’s hard to understand what this really means for us when we’re downloading something at home or surfing the internet using our phones. To help you understand how fast 5G really is, here are a few real-world examples.
5G Speed: What the Standards Mean
For a network to be regarded as 5G, it has to meet certain rules. One of those rules is regarding speeds for downloads and uploads. At present, 5G base stations need to support speeds this fast, at the very least:
Download speed: 20 Gb/s
Upload speed: 10 Gb/s
Minimum Latency Requirement
5G also has a latency requirement. Latency, in its essence, refers to the difference in time between when a 5G tower sends data and when the destination device, like, say, your phone or tablet, receives the data. 5G requires a minimum latency of 4 ms, assuming that all conditions are met. But this could drop to 1 ms, too. In comparison, the latency on the current 4G network is usually between 50 and 100 ms and that is twice as fast as the older 3G network.
Actual 5G Speeds
Keep in mind that the metrics listed above are a reflection of how 5G will perform in ideal conditions, which means when there is very less interference or latency. In other words, most people will not experience these peak upload and download speeds. However, you can access such speeds if you are using a dedicated fixed wireless access system where you are not required to split the bandwidth with other network users.
Factors that Affect Speed
5G speeds depend not only on where one is located when they access the network but also on other factors like the hardware that is being used, how many other users are sharing the network, the speeds that the network is capable of, and if there is any interference at play.
