4G vs 5G - How Futureproof is 4G?

The 4G generation kicked off in the UK for just a few months ago and there is still only one network provider currently supporting this kind of coverage, so it may feel a little premature to start talking about what will come next. But many are debating which is best 4G vs 5G speed; and when will we see that kind of speed?

However, the mobile market never sits still and people who are investing in 4G handsets today will want to know how future-proof this technology will be before they spend their money on a compatible device.

Soon 4G coverage will be just as ubiquitous as 3G, but there are already signs of 5G’s arrival peeping over the horizon and the dawn of the fifth mobile networking age is an exciting prospect in itself. So what can you expect from 4G over the coming years and when will 5G move in to replace it?

Timescale

Most experts agree that we are about 10 years away from seeing 5G networking arrive on the same scale as 3G and soon 4G coverage. This is because various companies are still working out ways to achieve the next big leap that will bring significantly faster wireless connectivity to the masses.

So from a practical point of view, most people will not have to worry about whether they will need to upgrade to a 5G device until well into the next decade, by which point even cutting-edge modern phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 will look hilariously outdated.

Speed

When it comes to 4G vs 5G speed, it is worth looking at the trials currently being run by Samsung in its native South Korea. It recently revealed that it has created a high frequency networking service which can transfer data at a speed of 1Gbps, which is the goldilocks formula for reaching 5G connectivity expectations. Gigabit connectivity is already available over local area networks, but even fixed line broadband in the UK and most other developed countries has not come close to matching this speed.

Forbes reports that telecoms infrastructure experts Ericsson believe that in a decade’s time, data speeds of 10Gbps should be possible over wired broadband networks, so mobile will still be a little way behind. But compared to 4G speeds, 5G will definitely represent a generational leap.

Current Services

4G vs 5G speed – how fast is 4G and do we even need to go much faster on our smartphones when we are out and about? Hopefully by the end of the 4G generation, providers will be able to squeeze about 100Mbps out of a 4G signal, which is definitely an impressive feat. At the moment EE recons that average 4G speeds on its network are between 8-10Mbps, with 20Mbps or more available in certain locations and circumstances.

Have 4G speed already? 4G vs 5G – If you are asking will I get 5G internet, the answer is almost certainly yes, because once it is commercially viable it should be implemented as broadly as possible.

The UK is often seen as a proving ground for new mobile technologies, so as long as the regulators are able to divide up the network spectrum at a greater pace, then the rollout of 5G should be a little smoother than it has been for 4G. It is difficult to answer the question of when will 5G launch in any specific terms, but Samsung and its contemporaries are at least eight years away from even beginning the rollout.

User Benefits

When it comes to what users will get out of the 5G revolution, it is somewhat unwise to make predictions about the shape of the market so far down the line. However, we do know that 4K UltraHD content is going to hit living rooms of those with cash to spare in 2013, before trickling down to a wider audience over the next few years. 8K HD will follow in its footsteps, putting major new demands upon network bandwidths when it comes to video streaming.

Cloud computing services will also be far more prominently used and it is easy to conceive of a point in the future where the entirety of a smartphone’s operating system will be run in the cloud and streamed to a device over a 4G vs 5G connection.

Imagining the possibilities is exciting enough, but if you start using 4G today you can begin to understand how things might play out.