Many people thought 2020 was going to be the year that 5G came into its own – and then it wasn’t. Although it’s had a slower start than hoped (and for very good reasons!), the mass rollout of fifth-generation mobile network technology is just around the corner.

5G promises lightning-fast speeds and low latency. It’s effectively high-speed broadband with no cables – offering seamless, real-time connectivity.

As 5G becomes more common, we will increasingly begin to expect the same experience at home, in the workplace, and when we’re out and about. Here’s why we believe 2021 is the year 5G finally lives up to its promise.

The growth in the number of people working from home during the pandemic, combined with homeschooling, has created a situation where a lot more traffic is being generated and demand for a better network experience. Even when things go back to some kind of normal, it’s widely expected that many businesses, having seen benefits in working from home, will continue to use the model – or perhaps a blend of home and workplace work.

5G is the answer to those strained home broadband connections. It has a bandwidth far higher than the networks which came before it, meaning more data can be transferred between devices. Potentially, that means no more stuttering Zoom calls as everyone battles for network space.

It also means teams can upload and download larger amounts of content such as photos or videos and send them with ease – crucial as more and more businesses work in the cloud.

Because of how portable it is, 5G will bring connectivity to regions that have previously been poorly-served by broadband, helping to get businesses in those areas up to speed with remote working and digital transformation.

And if homeworking sticks around for a while longer, enhanced mobile broadband can introduce new possibilities for meetings in augmented and virtual reality – potentially enabling productive sessions using technology that helps you feel as though you’re all in the same room.