Wireless carriers around the world aren t offering new services that would make consumers actually want 5G, according to a big, bleak new report from Ericsson.
Five Ways to a Better 5G reveals that 70% of consumers are dissatisfied with the availability of innovative services on 5G and expect new applications that they aren t getting. The report says consumers would be willing to pay 20–30% more for things like 5G TV, 5G in-car entertainment, 360-degree livestreams of events, and instant, responsive cloud access. But, well, none of that is happening.
Wouldn t you love to live in the world where 5G let us do all this cool stuff? Me too.
Verizon s nationwide 5G may be seriously slowing down your new iPhone, a problem that also affects other new 5G phones such as the Google Pixel 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The fix? Turning off 5G if you can.
When 5G Is Slower Than 4G
Verizon has America s fastest mobile network based on two systems: a 4G LTE network that gets faster every year, and a blazing-fast, high-capacity millimeter-wave ultra wideband (UWB) 5G network. Verizon s 4G LTE is often faster than T-Mobile s and AT&T s low-band 5G. But Verizon s UWB 5G network has extremely limited coverage, potentially giving Verizon phones a 4G icon in cities where its competitors have 5G and when you re choosing a carrier, you re more likely to want that little 5G icon than to dig into the nuances of network speeds.
If 2020 is proving anything, it s that a rock-solid and fast internet connection is a must for getting serious work done and for having serious fun. We need it for remote school and virtual meetings but also marathon video streaming and gaming sessions.
Having an internet connection with top-notch download and upload speed is great, but it s not the most important thing gamers should consider. You need a low-latency, high-quality connection from your ISP that ensures your button mashes register without lag. Below are the providers that deliver just that and the regions they serve.
Methodology
The data in this story is gathered via the PCMag Speed Test tool, which you can test below. (For the best results, run it on a PC with no VPN running, no streaming video happening on your home network, and with an Ethernet connection to your router. For the least overhead, connect your PC to the modem provided by your ISP but don t leave it hooked up, that s a security risk.)