The Federal Communications Commission, led by Chairman Tom Wheeler (pictured above), is set to circulate a proposal that will kick off implementation of 5G, and if passed, this proposal will lead to sections of the high-band radio frequency spectrum being dedicated to 5G. These high-frequency radio waves are able to deliver far quicker data speeds than the frequencies used for 4G. The proposal will be circulated this week.
The push for 5G is more than just a push for faster internet — the FCC wants the U.S. to lead the way in developing the network, and if approved the proposal will make the U.S. the first country to open higher frequencies for
Of course, the FCC itself won’t be defining what 5G actually is. Instead, it will simply open up a bunch of radio frequencies and let private companies use those frequencies for their own
So just how fast will 5G be over 4G? According to the FCC,
Of course, 5G has some serious limitations that carriers will need to circumvent — for example, the higher frequencies mean that the radio waves can’t travel as far, or as well through walls. Still, that just means that companies like Verizon will need to implement different technologies in order to get
It’s likely to be a few years before we have 5G on our phones, but at least development of the new standard is underway. Gigabit-per-second YouTube videos, here we come!
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