5 reasons why SMBs shouldn’t upgrade to 5G yet

The excitement around 5G continues, and for good reason. The technology will deliver bigger and better mobile communications than ever before, and the tech world could be on the verge of a revolution in media quality and wireless speeds. When the time is right, small and medium businesses (SMBs) can reap huge potential benefits from 5G implementation.

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However, before upgrading your business to new, expensive technology, it’s important to gain some perspective. The truth is, for most SMBs, 5G will likely cause more trouble than it already does. The technology is still working out some important kinks, and SMBs may not be able to reap the benefits just yet.

Why do we recommend pumping the brakes on 5G? Here are five reasons you should consider waiting before upgrading.

5G service coverage is limited

Despite the fanfare surrounding 5G, most areas don’t have actual 5G service. 5G is available in a few neighborhoods in major cities, but deployment elsewhere is extremely limited.

That's because true 5G requires many short-range, high-frequency waves. Unlike 4G's long waves, which can be transmitted between cell towers several miles apart, 5G requires a dense network of small cell antennas. Typically, these antennas are placed in pole-mounted radomes and installed in many places around cities to provide 5G service.

Unfortunately, deployment of these antennas faces regulatory and cost hurdles. Until the market has some understanding of these issues and widespread installation begins, 5G service may not be available in your area anytime soon, as its range is much shorter. (If your business is in a rural area, it may be many years before 5G is available.)

Paying for 5G before it's fully available

If 5G isn't yet widely available in your area, it makes sense that you shouldn't pay for it. Yet that's exactly what many 5G plans require you to do: pay for something you don't get.

If 5G isn’t available in your area, your mobile device will default back to 4G LTE, which is the same as what you’re already paying for on your SMB’s current data plan. There’s no reason to pay for 5G to get 4G, so for SMBs it’s often worth waiting a little longer to get more bang for your buck.

Faster chips and better phones

Unfortunately, the first generation of devices to adopt a new technology is often quickly replaced by another wave of more advanced devices that have mastered the technology more thoroughly. This pattern seems likely to apply to 5G, as current 5G phones are using powerful but aging chipsets that will soon be replaced.

It’s clear that 2020 and 2021 will be the years of mass rollout of 5G devices. Qualcomm recently announced its new Snapdragon 765 and 865 chipsets, which will power the next generation of 5G phones. If your business doesn’t need 5G right now, there may be better devices on the way.

4G is not dead yet

Unlike the fairly quick transition from 3G to 4G, an industry-wide shift from 4G to 5G doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. That’s because 5G is a fundamentally different technology than 4G. Rather than being a wholesale replacement for 4G, 5G is currently building on 4G technology and using it as a springboard to improve performance.

First, 5G phones will still need to use 4G to get the initial "handshake" that connects the phone to the wireless network. If 5G becomes available, the connection will switch over. "Standalone" 5G (which doesn't use 4G) will eventually come, but most experts say it's still at least a year or two away from widespread release.

4G is also widely used for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, which generally require relatively little bandwidth. For most IoT device manufacturers, there won’t be a good reason to upgrade to 5G for quite some time, which means your 4G IoT devices won’t be obsoleted by 5G anytime soon.

Finally, 4G LTE speeds continue to improve, demonstrating that there is still a high level of investment in the technology and that it will remain relevant for many years to come.

5G building penetration

Early adopters of 5G may find themselves facing frustrating problems with building penetration. In part, this may be due to a lack of adequate 5G cellular antennas, but the bigger point is that telecom companies still haven’t quite figured out how to achieve reliable building penetration on 5G frequencies.

This means that the frustrating lack of service many 4G users experience indoors may not be improved by 5G. In fact, it may even get worse. Something as simple as a tree or an extra-thick sheet of glass could block 5G signals, meaning SMBs may not be able to immediately rely on it to provide consistent indoor service.

There may be other ways to improve 5G signals in urban environments, such as developing new plastic casings and electronic enclosures that allow the signals to travel more forcefully, but for now, 5G has yet to prove its reliability in building penetration.

5G will be as revolutionary as 4G was, and one day it will become a must-have for all small and medium-sized businesses. However, for now, it is wise to wait until the time is right and the investment makes sense for your business.