Communication · 2019

5G

Wider spectrum and massive antenna arrays push mobile speeds toward gigabits.

South Korea launched the first nationwide commercial 5G networks in April 2019. Using new millimetre-wave and mid-band spectrum with massive MIMO, 5G offers multi-gigabit peaks and lower latency, and passed 2 billion connections worldwide by 2024.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

4G LTE 2009

What it led to 1

Direct-to-cell satellite service 2025

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people Latest: 112 per 100 people (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people Latest: 20.1 per 100 people (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of people online Latest: 73.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data