As 5G is all the US telcos can talk about right now, you would be forgiven for assuming consumers are just as excited, but it appears the feelings are little more than ‘meh’.

According to new research from Repeater Store, consumers just aren’t that bothered by the upcoming wireless revolution. In fact, most aren’t even aware of the work which is being done across the country.

59% of the respondents to the survey didn’t know that 5G is around the corner, though T-Mobile US subscribers were the most clued up which is perhaps unsurprising considering the eccentric narcissist currently in-charge. In terms of understanding the benefits, 28.1% said they were not clear at all, while 27.5% said they were somewhat clear and 23.2% said they sort of understood the added value. In terms of excitement, 18.5% couldn’t care less and 19.6% aren’t really excited. 32% are in the ‘meh’ camp, while the rest are more pleased with the upgrades.

While there are clear benefits for the industry and apparent excitement for vendors, almost the complete opposite can be said for consumers. To date, the limited communications on 5G have focused on increased speed on mobile devices, though most of the time, a 4G connection is more than sufficient to watch videos, play games or check your bank balance. Perhaps in the eyes of the consumer, the telcos are trying to fix a problem which doesn’t exist.

Consumers do not know about the stress being placed on networks, nor are they likely care that much either. Telcos can promote the long-term benefit of 5G due to the increased efficiency of data delivery, but as long as the experience is good enough today, few consumers will actually care about these messages. Strain on the network is the telcos problem not the consumers, they don’t pay to be concerned about the piping.