How Fast is 5G?

5G is the future of high-speed wireless internet. It far surpasses the speed capabilities of anything previous and is even faster than most standard wired broadband connections.

5G Peak Upload and Peak Download Rates

5G has an official minimum peak download rate along with a minimum peak upload rate. Every 5G base station must support speeds of at least the following:
  • 5G peak download speed which works out to 20 Gbps.
  • 5G peak uplands speed must be 10 Gbps
  • 5G also features a minimum latency. Latency is the time it takes to send data from a cell tower to a destination device.
  • 5G must have a minimum latency of 4 MS but can drop down to 1 Ms
  • To better understand latency, remember that a 4G network has 50 or 100 MS which is more than twice as fast as a 3G network but still not as fast as a 5G.

Download Large Files with a 5G Network

  • 1 Gbps takes two seconds to download a 75 JPG image.
  • 5Gbps will take eight seconds to download two full seasons of a show that is around 5G.
  • 10Gbps takes six seconds to download an 8GB home movie.
  • 15 Gbps takes one minute to archive 105 GB of data.
  • 20 Gbps takes less than two minutes to download a movie that is 276GB.
A person sitting at a table using a computer

What is the Capacity of 5G?

Each 5G cell supports one million devices per square kilometer. The download and uplands speeds are split between each device at the cell tower. Mobile users will rarely experience peak download/upload speeds.

So How Fast is 5G Really?

There is no black-and-white answer to the question of how fast is 5G. There are just too many variables associated with 5G. It depends on where you are located when you access the network. Your hardware matters as to whether the network is capable of favorable speeds. Other factors that impact 5G speed are the number of users who share the 20+ Gbps and what interference occurs between them.

What are the factors that impact 5G speed?

  • Number of users
  • Large buildings in a metro area.
  • Being indoors.
  • Riding in a car.
  • Walking or jogging at top speeds.

Compare 5G Speed and Latency to 4G LTE

It’s hard to predict the speed and future of a 5G network vs a 4G network. Let’s examine the time it takes to download a 3 GB movie to compare the speed of 5G and latency to 4G LTE. This will give you an idea of 5G speeds
  • 3G takes one hour and eight minutes
  • 4G takes 40 minutes
  • 4G LTE takes 27 minutes
  • Gigabit LTE takes 61 seconds
  • 5G takes 35 seconds

The above numbers are averages and will differ in real life depending on many factors. If a 5G connection ever reaches 20 Gbps, then the movie would download in a second.

When comparing 5G to LTE then you can see that the time is remarkably close. Some users might not even notice the discrepancy between the times.

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5G is the future of high-speed wireless internet. It far surpasses the speed capabilities of anything previous and is even faster than most standard wired broadband connections.