So You Wanna Get 5G?

Can Americans actually get 5G? The rollout of high-speed 5G hinges on a mix of domestic and global telecommunications policies, many of which still need to be resolved. US carriers need larger swaths of airwaves to transmit all that data, and new technology to make the most of their existing bandwidth. The highest 5G speeds will also require far more transmitters—think small antennas on every city block, not occasional towers. And on the global stage, 5G standards are still being hashed out by the world’s economic powers. Not all 5G is created equal. The network is really a confluence of different technologies running on different radio frequencies, and the speed of the network differs greatly as a result. So, while any 5G network is expected to be faster than what consumers can tap into today, exactly how much faster might depend on where you live.