As I sat down to write down the introduction to this Shift situation on 5G, one thing fascinating occurred. I made a decision to run a velocity check on my cell phone.

“Your Web connection is quick,” the web site stated. It had measured my obtain velocity at 28.4 megabits per second, add velocity at 2.51 mbps. 

Not blazingly quick however adequate for my wants, I assumed. In any case, it’s a terrific cellphone, and I don’t obtain HD films; perhaps an audiobook right here and there. 

However that little train underscored how a lot 4G efficiency pales compared with what’s been promised with the arrival of true fifth-generation wi-fi. We’re speaking three-, perhaps four-digit obtain speeds. 

In contrast to yours really, automakers and mobility firms haven’t ignored the chances {that a} high-capacity, high-speed, low-latency community affords. For them, the arrival of 5G is nothing wanting revolutionary. In a latest Shift panel dialogue on 5G, Audi of America govt Pom Malhotra referred to as it a “seismic occasion” for the trade. (Learn what he and different trade leaders needed to say)

Telecoms are gearing up. Verizon Wi-fi spent a jaw-dropping $53 billion, together with associated prices, to accumulate licenses in a coveted a part of the 5G spectrum referred to as the C-band, greater than doubling its midband spectrum holdings. (See Jack Keebler’s story.)

For motorists, 5G might result in sizable enhancements in security and connectivity, and a extra fulfilling in-vehicle expertise. You’ll discover examples all through the problem.

Deputy Mobility Editor Pete Bigelow explores China’s use of 5G to transmit essential info from the infrastructure to autonomous autos. And talking of clever roadways, in one other story we study that the battle over slashing the quantity of “speaking automotive” spectrum obtainable within the U.S. is probably not completed simply but.

A quick connection can also make the trip extra enjoyable, as correspondent Marcus Amick exhibits us in his profile of Germany’s Holoride, and it’ll deliver extra bells and whistles to maps and shows. It’d even deliver a driverless automobile proper to the curb. 

Our aim with this situation is to not clarify the intricacies of how 5G wi-fi works — a head-spinning endeavor if there ever was one — however to shine a lightweight on how a full rollout of 5G might change the lives of drivers and passengers, enhance our roadways and even change the connection between automakers and their prospects.

Meantime, I don’t learn about you, however I’m going to want a greater cellphone.