How 5G Will Bring High-Speed Internet To Underserved Communities Share to Linkedin Most headlines about the fifth generation of mobile networks focus on the blazing-fast speeds and higher bandwidth users will see from 5G devices. But another, less hyped aspect of the new technology, which carriers began deploying in late 2019, will have an outsized impact on millions of people in the U.S. alone. getty As carriers upgrade the network, people in rural areas and other broadband dead zones will gain the same access to the internet that their urban neighbors have long taken for granted. Allen Pratt, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, said broadband connectivity would go a long way toward bridging the digital divide.