Samsung is currently in the process of testing a new 5G network with speeds of up to 20 GB per second. The network should be available to users by 2020.
Almost all mid- and high-range smartphones run on the 4G LTE network, which is the fastest currently available. Only several years ago, most users were stuck using 3G, and we all still feel the disappointment when our device is unable to connect to 4G LTE and is instead shuttled back to the dark ages of 3G and its slow loading times.
Soon enough, we may all be feeling the same frustration when using 4G, because efforts to test and introduce a new 5G network in the near future are taking shape.
The imminent development of the 5G network was reported last year, but now Samsung Mobile in South Korea is actively working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to help set the standards and determine the specifications for the network., which, just last month, were decided upon by 12 delegates.
After testing was initiated, Samsung then announced a standard for the network of 20 Gbps, which is 20 times the current speed standard of the 4G LTE network, which is 1 Gbps. Even though 4G LTE has a 1 Gbps standard, the fastest LTE network now allows speeds of up to just 300 Mbps, which is considerably lower.
Users can expect the same speed constraints when the first 5G LTE networks open for business in 2020. While transfers will be certainly performable at lightning speeds, which put 4G to shame, nothing approaching the actual 20 Gbps cited in the newly-defined standard will actually be available. A 20 Gbps rate would literally allow a user to download an ultra-HD movie in one second. However, even if the new 5G network operates at around 30 percent of the standard, as does the fastest 4G LTE network, that should still allow a mobile user to download that same movie in seconds, not minutes.
