5G Internet: A High-Speed ​​Alternative to Cable?

If you want fiber-like speeds or high-speed internet for free in an area where it’s not currently available, 5G Wi-Fi may be worth considering.

While it's not available everywhere, there are several reasons to consider 5G at home if and when it launches in your area.

What is 5G Wi-Fi?

Similar to how you get Wi-Fi in your home today, whether through an existing wireless service like microwave or satellite, or a direct wired connection like cable or fiber optic, 5G will be able to deliver internet to your home through a direct wireless connection.

5G Wi-Fi is simply Wi-Fi that provides internet access via 5G towers. One way this works is through a base station that wirelessly connects directly to fixed terminals within a premises, such as your home or business. This is called fixed wireless access.

You can also use hotspot to turn your mobile network connection into Wi-Fi for local devices like tablets, game consoles, laptops, etc.

Why use 5G Internet?

First, it's incredibly fast -- with a minimum theoretical speed of 20 gigabits per second per cell (2.5 gigabits per second), that's more than 10 times faster than 4G and likely faster than many types of wired home connections.

Another aspect is the extremely low latency standard that 5G networks need to comply with. This means that with 5G Wi-Fi, everything you currently do on the Internet will be much faster, such as downloading files, sharing data, uploading videos, playing online games, streaming movies, etc.

All of your devices can connect to the internet without experiencing congestion, video buffering, random disconnects, and other bandwidth-related issues, which means even more bandwidth-hungry devices like extended reality headsets can be used at home.

5G can also provide reliable internet in areas that don’t have the existing infrastructure to provide decent internet, or no internet at all. The places most likely to benefit are those without access to wired access, such as rural areas, new construction sites, and developing countries.

Another benefit is reduced costs. Many of the expenses associated with network infrastructure, especially high-speed technologies like fiber, are the hardware between the provider and the home or business. For traditional wired networks, that means a lot of cabling and other equipment, much of which disappears in 5G Wi-Fi systems.

5G mobile providers can offer massive improvements over existing fixed broadband (FBB) providers, so this competition has the potential to reduce FBB costs or offer existing FBB customers services that compete with 5G providers.

Why is 5G better than 4G for wireless Internet access?

Some service providers are implementing 5G networks using relatively high-frequency bands, which are parts of the radio spectrum that were not used by 4G networks. This opens up room for more traffic on the network, translating into faster speeds and higher-capacity networks to deliver all of the above.

5G also offers greater focus than 4G. This means the radio waves provide a concentrated beam that can be directed at specific users as needed for super-fast speeds, which is exactly what you need for wireless internet service at home.

Where can I use 5G Wi-Fi?

It's available in the US, Canada, and most other countries. See Global 5G Availability for all the details.

You can’t get it everywhere because not all companies have upgraded their infrastructure to support the technology. 5G availability depends on many factors, including your location and service provider, but most are currently adding new locations to their networks every few months.

In fact, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report at the end of 2022, “FWA is growing strongly, with 300 million connections expected by 2028.”