Fastest Cell Network Ever Almost Here

It’s here — sort of.

Nokia Networks’ 5G technology is “the fastest cellular technology ever tested,” CNN Money reports, and it’s being demonstrated this week during the Brooklyn 5G Summit at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The technology is 10 times faster than Google Fiber and 40 times faster than 4G and can deliver speeds of 10 gigabits per second, CNN reports. That’s fast enough to download a full-length HD movie in seconds or to stream “8K” video in 3D.

Theodore “Ted” Rappaport, founder and director of NYU Wireless (part of NYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering) says technology that could potentially increase wireless data capacity “a thousand-fold” is feasible. But CNN states that its implementation could be five years away.

In a press release, Rappaport says:

We must maintain this momentum. The technology developed by NYU Wireless, its affiliates, and others will someday enable interconnected devices of the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, and medical uses beyond our wildest dreams. The work done at the Brooklyn 5G Summit and its members will stimulate foreign and domestic investments in R&D, result in new services and capabilities for consumers, and provide an influx of technical talent.

The invitation-only Brooklyn 5G summit was jointly organized by NYU Wireless and Nokia Networks.

On its website, NYU Wireless describes itself as “the world’s first academic research center combining wireless, computing, and medical applications.”

Part of the challenge of implementing Nokia’s 5G technology is that higher frequencies mean a shorter signal that have a harder time penetrating walls, which leads to other challenges, CNN reports:

That means mini cell towers, or “small cells” will need to be placed on top of every lamp post, every building, inside every home and potentially every room….

Since placing new cell towers everywhere isn’t practical, networking companies are also looking at new ways of beaming signals to people’s mobile devices.

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