Back in 2017, 3rd Generation Partnership Group (3GPP) a consortium of organizations responsible for overseeing specifications of network technology standards, unveiled a logo for 5G.
This year global carriers have been testing their networks and have started implementing 5G into a variety of their smartphones. But what does 5G mean? And what does this mean for WiFi?
What is 5G?
5G is the fifth generation cellular network technology, and is basically an upgrade of 4G. The network technology is expected to provide much higher speeds and capacities to that of 4G. It is also thought that 5G will bring much lower latency than 4G.
5G can send and receive signals almost instantly and because of that it is believed that 5G will offer faster mobile internet speeds of more than 10 Gbps. (For those of you who don’t speak technology, that means that 5G will be 100 times faster than 4G.)
5G will provide a latency that is less than a millisecond. To put that into perspective, you could download a HD feature-length movie in less than a few seconds.
5G is also expected to implement and adopt the Internet of Things (IoT), which will have huge implications for industries such as manufacturing who rely on IoT to digitally connect their processes and factories.
3GPP have stated that they will continue to run studies to find ways they can improve 5G.
Why Won’t 5G Kill WiFi?
Some people fear that 5G might cause WiFi to die. However, experts have reassured us that this is not the case.
One reason why 5G won’t kill WiFi is because there are many WiFi enabled devices available to purchase and ones which are still being made. WiFi-only devices such as tablets and entertainment systems rely on WiFi to connect to the internet. As these devices aren’t going anywhere, people will still need WiFi.
Another reason why 5G won’t kill WiFi is because the market is growing at an incredible rate. According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global WiFi market will be worth $15.60 billion by 2022.
Finally, another reason to put your worries to rest about 5G killing WiFi is because it is too prevalent and successful, especially in businesses. Organizations with a corporate wireless LAN can secure and monitor their networks and ensure data security – something which 5G devices can’t offer.
SDxCentral confirmed that 5G and WiFi will happily coexist, as 4G and WiFi currently do. The good news is about 5G is that your smartphone will be faster and will be able to match your speedy WiFi connection.
Do you suffer from a poor WiFi connection? Even though you are on a good fiber optic plan, you may still experience problems with a weak network connection. If this is the case, then there are numerous options you can try to improve your WiFi connection, for example, you might choose to connect a WiFi antenna to help boost your internet signal.
