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First 5G mobile networks expected in 2020 with up to 20 Gbps speeds

In five years, your 4G connection could be seen as pokey based on goals for 5G networks. Are you ready for Ultra HD movie downloads in 10 seconds?
Written by Kevin Tofel, Contributor

You'll have to wait a handful of years for it but it sounds like 5G mobile broadband will be worth the wait. Instead of the 50 to 100 Mbps connections of 4G networks, 5G could top out at 20 Gbps.

That's fast enough to download a ultra-high HD movie on a mobile device in 10 seconds, says the Korea Times, reporting on the new 5G definition being adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU recently defined its roadmap to implement 5G networks but still has work to do ranging from testing the technology to defining performance requirements and standards before a 2020 commercial implementation.

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Even so, people will likely get a glimpse of 5G network technology sooner. Fierce Wireless notes that a demonstration is expected during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

While the promise of faster mobile broadband speeds is alluring for how we use tablets and smartphones today, it will have an added benefit for non-traditional connected devices. The Korea Times reports 5G networks can "provide more than 100 megabits-per-second average data transmission to over one million Internet of Things devices within 1 square kilometer."

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