5G and 5 GHz Wi-Fi are both used for wireless connectivity, but they don’t have anything else in common. Anyone referring to “5G Wi-Fi” actually means 5 GHz Wi-Fi, which is different from the 5G cellular standard.
5G Is The New Cellular Standard
You’ll be hearing a lot more about 5G soon. It’s a cellular standard and is the successor to 4G LTE and 3G. 5G stands for “fifth generation,” as it’s the fifth generation of this cellular standard.
5G is designed to be much faster and have lower latency than 4G LTE. You’ll start seeing the first 5G smartphones in 2019, and cellular carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon will roll out their 5G mobile networks. 5G could transform your home Internet connection by delivering speedy broadband Internet service wirelessly, too.
While 5G is an exciting new standard, it has nothing to do with Wi-Fi. 5G is used for cellular connections. Future smartphones may support 5G and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, but current smartphones support 4G LTE and 5 GHz Wi-Fi.
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5GHz Is One of Two Bands For Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi has two frequency bands you can use: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 5 GHz is the newer one. It came into wide use with the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, which was initially published back in 2009. It’s still part of modern Wi-Fi standards like 802.11ac and Wi-Fi 6.
