The introduction of fifth generation wireless technology in 2019 and 2020 will provide a big speed boost to mobile networks, on the order of 100x or more. All that extra bandwidth (not to mention lower latencies) will be a boon for consumers, who will be presented with all manner of new entertainment options. But 5G will also bring new opportunities and challenges for enterprises. Companies that start preparing now will hold the advantage.

The current 4G networks currently deliver around 4-12 megabits per second (Mbps) of bandwidth, with peak download speeds reaching up to 50 Mbps, on spectrum from 600 Mhz to about 5Ghz. That’s about the same speed that a typical cable or DSL Internet customer can expect at home.

The new 5G specifications that are under consideration offer significantly higher data speeds. For example, the ITU IMT-2020 specification calls for speeds up to 20 Gbps, which is more than 2,000 times faster than current 4G specs. However, the data rates that users are expected to experience will be much lower – in the 1 Gbps range, which is “only” about 100x faster than the typical bandwidth found with 4G handsets.