4G and even LTE-Advanced seem so last generation now that South Korea has revealed plans to build a 5G network. The country’s communications technology ministry will put in 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) and work with local firms through 2020. The 5G network is expected to be 1,000 times faster than the existing LTE network, which means users can download an 800-megabyte movie in just one second.
Is the era of 5G connectivity upon us? The government in South Korea says so, and it’s sinking $1.5 billion into upgrades it says will make mobile communications there 1,000 times faster than they are today. But not so fast. Literally, not so fast. As was the case when smartphones and other mobile devices first started having 4G slapped on them, the term 5G is as much a marketing slogan as anything else — at this point, anyway. And if technophiles in the United States are hoping Korea’s announcement means warp-speed data connections are coming their way in the near future, they’re going to be disappointed.
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