5G, or 5th Generation Mobile, is the next big leap in wireless communications. You’ve probably heard about it in commercials or seen it in headlines. But much of the discussion so far about the new technology has been focused on its engineering features, infrastructure requirements and public policy considerations. With technical buzzwords like “network slicing,” “beamforming,” and “multi-access edge computing,” it may be hard to really understand what 5G is all about and why we should care.

Here, then, is a brief explanation of how 5G will be used and what it will mean for your online experience — and  your everyday life.

Existing applications

5G, which will supplement rather than replace today’s 4G networks, will radically improve the bandwidth, capacity and reliability of mobile broadband, much more than in previous generational shifts. How? In part by packing thousands of small antennae onto cell towers, utility poles and buildings, 5G will push mobile speeds from 100 Mbps to upward of 10 Gbps, a thousand-fold increase that will make next-generation wireless competitive with even the fastest fiber-optic wired networks.

With all that new capacity, expect to be watching even more high-definition video on your smartphone or tablet, including ultrahigh definition movies and emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality applications (think of Pokémon Go as a prototype).