The big differences between 4G and 5G

Speed

Speed is one of the most highly anticipated elements of the next generation network.

Those speeds are possible because most 5G networks are built on super-high-frequency airwaves, also known as high-band spectrum. The higher frequencies can transmit much more data, much faster than on 4G.

But signals traveling on high-band spectrum can’t travel very far and have a hard time getting through walls, windows, lampposts and other hard surfaces. That’s not very convenient when we want the tiny computers we carry around everywhere to continue working as we walk out of the subway station, down the street and into the office.

It’s also probable that many buildings will get their own 5G cell sites to ensure the network functions inside.

Capacity

We’ve all experienced that frustrating moment when you’re in a relatively small area with a bunch of people — a concert, sports stadium or the airport during holiday travel season — and you see the “spinning wheel of death” while trying to open a webpage or play an Instagram video.

Too many devices trying to use the network in one place can cause congestion. The network infrastructure just can’t cope with mass numbers of devices, leading to slower data speeds and longer lag time for downloads.

5G is expected to solve that issue — and then some. The next generation network is expected to have significantly more capacity than 4G. That will mean not only a better connection for everyone’s phones, so you can more easily brag on social media about being at the big game. It will make it possible to connect many, many more devices to the network.

Experts compare the 5G network to a new-and-improved freeway with more lanes for more cars to drive on. This element of the update could create increased bandwidth for the “internet of things” era, filled with connected toothbrushes, kitchen appliances, street lamps and more.

Latency

A small but significant difference exists between speed and latency, which is the time it takes for devices to communicate with each other or with the server that’s sending them information.

Speed is the amount of time it takes for your phone to download the contents of a webpage. Latency is the time between when you send a text to a friend’s phone and when their phone registers that it has received a new message. Although latency is measured in milliseconds, all those milliseconds add up when sending and receiving huge packets of information for something as complex as video — or self-driving car data.

Latency is already low with 4G, but 5G will make it virtually zero.

That will be good for such new innovations as remote real-time gaming — helping people in various parts of the world using wireless internet-connected devices play one game and all be on exactly the same page at the same time.

It will be essential for other technologies, such as self-driving cars, which will need to send signals about their environment over the internet to a computer in the cloud, have the computer analyze the situation and return signals to the car telling it how to respond. To ensure the safety of self-driving vehicles (and their passengers), that communication needs to be instantaneous.

The X-factor: Reliability

Here’s the thing: The massive speeds and capacity and low latency of 5G relies on high-band spectrum. But high-band spectrum, with its small coverage areas, isn’t very reliable.

Other strategies for building out 5G provide greater reliability.

For now, T-Mobile’s 5G network provides, on average, a 20% increase in download speeds compared to 4G LTE, according to a company spokesperson. That’s a stark difference from the 100 times-faster-than-4G speeds on high frequency 5G networks.

Eventually, both lower and higher frequency 5G will cover much of the country and we’ll get the best of both worlds.