5G – can you hear it now?

The promises of exponentially higher speeds with 5G cell phone network technology are astounding, so now that 5G has made its first moves off the test bench into public use, we can start to see if the lofty promises might actually be real.  The expectation is that 5G will download a 2-hour movie in 3 seconds, compared to the 5 minutes it takes with older and slower networks.  Most network processes are expected to be at least 4 times faster than on 4G networks, and some processes like downloading, may be 20 times faster.  Right now there are several “live” 5G locations, and here are some of the initial observations:

– South Korea turned on the 5G network in the city of Seoul on April 5/19, coinciding with SK Telecom’s release of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Smartphone, the first one with built-in 5G capability.  Initial network speed with 5G is good, with measurements coming in at about 430 Mbps, however 5G access is spotty and unreliable around the city, especially in hard to reach locations like subway stations.  The phone will revert to 4G whenever the 5G signal is too weak.  SK Telecom will ratchet up the speed over a 2 year period, and they expect about 10% of users will be on 5G by the end of 2019.

– Verizon is running tests in Minneapolis and Chicago.  The 5G network is allegedly available in many of the popular Chicago tourist hotspots, but it is proving to be hard to find, reliably.  The Chicago coverage is reported to be spotty or weak, however, when you can get a good connection the speed is impressive – – up to 630 Mbps on downloads.  You need to have 5G capable hardware to access the network, such as the Motorola MOTO Z3, plus the $200 5G MOTO MOD as an add-on.  Samsung will soon have the Galaxy S10 5G in North America, but it will likely cost more than the Motorola package.

So, three initial installations are up and running, and so far, coverage is spotty and speeds may be throttled for a while.  Consumers who want smooth running games and super fast download speeds will be at the front of the line to adopt 5G.  Verizon aims to launch 5G in 30 cities in 2019, and implementation pressure will increase when AT&T, T-Mobile, and SPRINT join in.  There will be many cell phone network apps that will also benefit with fast 5G speeds, but most of the impetus today is entertainment.

Trend Disruptors is monitoring these developments and will be recommending companies to invest in that could lead to success for savvy investors.

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Stay tuned …