The move to the next generation wireless communication network, 5G, started last year, but it is expected to ramp up considerably in 2020.
These big changes mean the emergence of new smartphones, new infrastructure and a host of new potential use cases to take advantage of the fast download speeds, high bandwidth and low latency that 5G provides.
Despite the hype surrounding 5G, a new survey from Ting Mobile shows that most people have little knowledge about the technology. Also confusing consumers is the status of 3G with people unaware of inevitable 3G shutdowns.
“The responses to this survey are eye-opening to us, namely because they indicate widespread confusion and misinformation about the status of both 3G and 5G mobile networks,” said Andrew Moore-Crispin, director of content at Ting Mobile. “While 17% of the mobile population using 3G doesn’t sound like a lot, that’s over 47 million people whose service could just stop working.”
In the survey, 79% of respondents indicated they had no idea that 3G networks are being phased out across the country. However, most were not concerned because they do not have a 3G phone. Of the 11% of people who do have a 2G or 3G network, 74% of people who are on 2G and 66% of people who are on 3G, said they are not concerned that it is going away. Only 9% of people learned that 3G was going away directly from their mobile carrier, while the remaining 12% of people who knew about the phase out heard it through another source.
In terms of 5G, 59% of respondents have heard about 5G network rollout. However, while smartphones supporting 5G have been out for almost a year, 31% of respondents indicated that they had no interest in purchasing a 5G device in the next six to 12 months.
Additionally, there is confusion among those surveyed as to who can actually access 5G networks with 19% of iPhone users indicating their phone supports 5G, however, none of the iPhone models currently available support 5G. Another 28% of people who bought their current phone two or more years ago indicated their phone supports 5G, but that is impossible since the first 5G supported smartphone was released in 2019.
“The takeaway here is simple: we’re just not there yet with 5G, so it’s advisable to wait on a 5G phone purchase for now,” Moore-Crispin said. “A lot of carriers are invoking the name of 5G in marketing materials right now, but the reality is that the 5G service that’s actually available is very limited and not yet up to the speeds that it eventually promises to be. This has clearly created some consumer confusion over who is actually on a 5G network, versus with a carrier who is working to roll out 5G.”
