What is 5G? Behind the Mobile Network of The Future

In this episode, we're taking a look at what 5G is, why it's better than 4G, and which companies are leading the 5G charge.

5G is a new cellular wireless standard that promises to bring faster internet speeds to mobile devices, and bring more services to market.

But what is 5G?

The term stands for the fifth-generation standard, or 5G, for mobile telecommunications. 5G uses a higher-frequency band of the wireless spectrum, called millimeter wave, that allows data to be transferred much faster than the lower-frequency band dedicated to 4G.

One of the key benefits from this new wireless standard is that 5G speeds will be up 100 times faster than 4G, and it will help create new services and technologies that wouldn't be possible without it.

For example, the vast Internet of Things industry will need faster and more reliable networks to bring about driverless cars, industrial automation, and connected smart cities, which are all in their infant stages right now.

Some estimates put the total amount of worldwide Internet of Things devices at 75 billion by 2025.

But before we get there, wireless carriers need to build out massive 5G networks. Thankfully, many of them have already started taking steps to get there.

Verizon has the goal of launching 5G in 30 cities by the end of the year, and has already flipped the 5G switch in several large metro areas.

The company has a lot of incentive to get 5G up and running as fast as possible, considering the new wireless standard's massive potential.

The CEO of Verizon's consumer division has said that "By 2035, 5G will enable $12.3 trillion of global economic output and support 22 million jobs worldwide."

But Verizon isn't the only U.S. carrier that's betting on 5G. AT&T has already launched 5G services in a handful of cities and plans to bring 5G to 21 markets by the end of 2019.

But even if carriers were able to turn on 5G nationwide tomorrow, it wouldn't make much of a difference. That's because right now there are only a handful of 5G phones available.

Make no mistake, 5G is just around the corner for U.S. consumers. But between network build-outs and the slow release of 5G devices, most of us won't have access to it until later next year, at the earliest.

While the U.S. is closer to 5G than ever before, China is also making big moves towards 5G as well.

The U.S. and China view 5G as a potential technology battle ground, with both countries working to become the undisputed leader for the new wireless standard.

By the end of 2019, China will have about 150,000 5G cellular sites up and running, while the U.S. will have just a fraction of that.

One of the reasons China will be able to expand its 5G coverage so quickly is because the Chinese government is making a top priority.

China's government and wireless carriers are all working together to get 5G up and running. If it succeeds, China will have more 5G users than any other country by the end of 2020.

The bottom line is that 5G is almost here and it'll be a giant step forward for Internet-connected devices. Consumers will reap the benefits of 5G by having lighting-fast mobile Internet, and companies will benefit by offering more connected services than ever before.

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[markprebilic]

This video strikes me as an advertisement rather than an educational piece, since it only focuses on the benefits and doesn’t offer up any potential detriments to having millimeter wave length radio frequencies (think unshielded microwave ovens) coursing through our bodies.

[mthoustontx]

5G doesn't just involve millimeter wave. It also involves low band and mid band waves.

[jouvertalandwa]

Personally I never notice the difference between 3G and 4G on when using my phone so 5G might be all hype for the average consumer

[MartyD]

Aren’t there health concerns with 5G?!

[I-Red]

How about the safety of having a 5G node close to your home?

[karlalemarr]

I am concerned for the health issues as well????

[livingharmony]

I'm shocked that a company responsible for recommending investments to such a large, and trusting audience would fail to mention the enormous risks involved with 5G. There is a substantial contingent of health professionals bringing their expertise to bear on this issue. This video merely parrots the industry propagandists without tipping a hat to the fast-growing, and I might add, informed resistance. And to an earlier poster's comments... it doesn't take ionizing radiation to cause damage to human cells. Non-ionizing radiation is known to cause considerable cellular damage. Do your homework before investing your money in this technology.

[nala]

What is the point of higher capacity bandwidth and data from the towers when they cap our data speeds after a certain amount (22) of GB we use each month? Pointless.

[fahmio]

It’s coming we know but the question is how and where to invest - Verizon? Qualcomm?

[imatimetraveler]

Im in the future i seen 12G its awesome 😂👍

[Markdart]

I m allready so tired of everythung new.. sad

[allstardemon]

What is 5g cannot be explained in a 3.5 min video. Your one-sidedness of this issue is actually shameful

[InvestingEducation]

Lookin forward to 5G so I can watch youtube without lag lol

[kyled]

Since the name of your channel is Motley Fool. Who's the fool?

[bearcubdaycare]

The millimeter wavelengths don't penetrate walls I understand, and only poorly penetrate windows. It also has short range. Those two restrictions seem to defeat each other. The latter makes it sound useful for cities, but the former makes it not so useful for cities, except when walking, which isn't typically a high bandwidth usage. I'm perplexed about how this technology is meant to be used.

But, 5G isn't just millimeter band. There are longer wavelengths that can be used with it, as some carriers plan. This doesn't get the massive bandwidth of millimeter, but has fewer building problems and longer range. Not so different from 4G, but then sometimes small incremental wins.

I'd love to see an in depth analysis of how 5G could be used, beyond the breathless "it'll help with everything". It clearly can't, so what, realistically, are the uses? Repeaters that bring the signal indoors? How sold/rented/leased/installed? Internet of things might benefit from low latency, but exactly what, how? I don't see most IOT needing massive bandwidth...a few bytes here and there. Is there a user case for streaming high resolution video or some such, and how would that be perceived, if say it involved uploading video of one's surrounding to some AI? "That's an Engelmann Spruce. A Beatles song is playing. That's your neighbor over there, and their son who just got out of prison." Brave New World doesn't always sell (though sometimes). Google Glass was vilified for much less (though people give maybe amounts of info through their phones). Maybe some of this is just "try it and see", but it does seem like some analysis should be possible. At least, will people want VHS or Betamax?

[joeikrunk]

With 5g and smart cities you won't even need a phone you can just order a Uber or food simply by saying it. It's a control grid that we won't be able to opt out of like 4 g don't want to be apart of 4g don't have a phone but with 5g we won't be able to escape it due to all the facial recognition cameras that will be everywhere

[GenExDividendInvestor]

Its interesting to see if 5g propels businesses into new highs, as some predict. Seems to be great times to be an investor :)

[tudyloco]

LG V50 is one step ahead which I just picked up on Friday I'll be ready

[darthvader]

If 5G is really ok? Then why the rush to advertise to attract more investor to invest their money into something already exposed as SUPER-DANGEROUS TO THE PUBLIC?

[barygg]

Optic fiber developed recently by Nokia is 18x faster than 5G, 1.52 Terabit per second. No harmfull effects...