5G internet was supposed to change the world. Here's why it fell flat.

• 5G's impact has been underwhelming, with limited consumer benefits and unmet promises.
• High costs and technical challenges hindered 5G's widespread adoption and network expansion.
• US carriers face difficulties monetizing 5G, with coverage gaps and declining revenue per user.

Remember when 5G was going to change everything?

Back in 2019, wireless industry leaders didn't just promise better cell service. They promised a better world where doctors could operate on patients remotely, and smart cities with driverless cars would make roads safer and less congested.

Fast forward to today, and the average consumer might be hard-pressed to notice much difference between 4G and 5G in their daily lives.

The Hype Machine

Many of the most ambitious promises either didn't require 5G or were simply impractical. For instance, remote surgery demands more than just high-speed internet; it requires sterile environments, anesthesia, and willing patients. Similarly, autonomous vehicles need to function independently of a mobile connection, raising questions about the need for 5G to begin with.

However, more recent reports mentioning 5G take a different tack — downgrading from bold claims like ultraconvenient "smart cities" to 5G-enabled drones that can monitor for insurance fraud.

The Technical Reality

One of the most significant advancements in 5G is the use of higher frequencies, which carry more information, but don't travel as far.

So, to use them, you need more antennas closer together — something called network densification. Building out the 5G network in the US has required hundreds of billions of dollars of investment.

To cut costs, much of the early 5G infrastructure was built by tweaking existing 4G sites. This approach, known as non-standalone 5G, offers efficiency but delivers a 4G-like experience.

Another thing that was supposed to be really different about 5G was the introduction of millimeter waves, which can theoretically provide much greater capacity. They are useful in select locations where crowds really pack in like stadiums or airports.

But in general, the distance they travel is so short and these waves are so easily blocked that widespread use in mobile networks just hasn't made a lot of sense, and many smartphones don't even support them.

It's not all bad news. When phones are actually connected to a 5G network, they generally get faster speeds and lower latency.

The thing is that for most people and most purposes, 4G was already good enough.

Coverage — not speed — is one of the biggest problems we still face.

The Coverage Divide

In the US, coverage is patchy or nonexistent in many remote or rural areas.

Carriers simply haven't built their networks out in a lot of these places, often because there aren't enough paying customers living there to justify the investment. This is part of what's called the "digital divide."

The defining feature of 5G is its higher, shorter-range frequencies. If the top priority was expanding coverage, building out existing 4G to more places networks would have been more efficient than upgrading so much existing 4G infrastructure in cities.

If you've ever seen a TV ad about 5G, then you might now be a little confused because the maps they show tend to make it look like 5G is already nearly everywhere.

Douglas Dawson has tested cellphone speeds across the country for his telecommunication consulting firm, CCG, and found that 5G only covers 30% to 40% of the land area in most US counties.

"People have trouble even making a cellphone call — 4G or 5G — because towers only have a limited circle around them of coverage," he said.

We asked the 3 major US carriers for comment on the accuracy of their maps.

Only T-Mobile answered the question directly. "Coverage Maps provide a general service expectation; it's not flawless," a spokesperson said.

Users may see a 5G icon on their phones even when not connected to a 5G network.

The Washington Post reported that, in the US, the icon just means that a mobile network is nearby and not necessarily that you're connected to it.

We asked all major US carriers about this, too.

AT&T said the 5G icon appears where the technology is available. T-Mobile said their icon is always accurate, and Verizon didn't get back to us.

A 2024 industry report showed that Verizon and AT&T 5G users were connected to a 5G network only about one-tenth of the time.

This is despite the fact that the US wireless industry has built nearly 100,000 new cell sites since 2018.

It's no surprise that carriers amplified the hype. They invested an enormous amount of money into it.

The Costly Reality

The three major US phone carriers spent over $100 billion on licenses to use the frequencies.

That doesn't include the cost of upgrading 4G sites to 5G or of building tons of new cell sites, which has required billions more dollars in investment.

However, they have struggled to monetize 5G, with monthly phone bills decreasing because of competition. The average revenue per user has been trending downwards even as investment from carriers has risen, putting them in a difficult position.

The Race

Because telecommunications is of massive economic and social importance equipment vendors — those who sell the actual infrastructure like antennas — and industry trade groups can lobby government officials, telling them that the next generation will be essential and transformative — and that if they don't act quickly, they might miss out on the benefits.

This pressure contributed to the narrative that the US and other nations were engaged in a global "5G race."

In turn, politicians who are most likely not telecoms engineering experts but might also be eager to implement new infrastructure projects see this as a no-risk position. Who wouldn't want to align themselves with the next frontier of technological innovation?

This rush could have resulted in many of these problems, including the decision to start with non-standalone 5G networks, and the the failure of 5G to differentiate itself from 4G in the eyes of consumers.

But 5G was also rushed in the planning phase.

Developing a plan for a new generation usually takes about 10 years, but 5G was rushed out in just eight. This was partially because of global political pressure, and because Japan planned a splashy 5G debut for the 2020 Olympics, even though it ended up delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking Ahead: 6G and Beyond

It's possible that 5G will be a continuation of a pattern established by previous networks.

The odd generations — 1G and 3G — were somewhat disappointing, but the even generations that followed worked out the kinks and had greater benefits.

So we could see bigger transformations with 6G.

But as we get closer to the sixth generation, most experts Business Insider spoke to said it's on the same troubled path.