When it comes to Internet service marketing, ISPs are selling their home internet in the name of 5G internet. Well, Nepal does not have a 5G network yet while the preparations for 5G have just started. The 5G internet that the Nepali ISPs are selling is actually a router that works on the 5GHz frequency band.
This makes people stumble across 5G and 5GHz internet at some point. Some people also think both are the same but in reality, it isn’t. In this article, we will answer all of your questions regarding 5GHz and 5G internet and try to free you from any confusion.
Table of contents
What is 5 GHz?
GHz simply means ‘GigaHertz’. It is the unit of operational frequency or frequency band for the wireless network. For example the WiFi device in your home also operates in some frequency (GHz). Wi-Fi mostly comes in two frequency bands; 2.4GHz and 5GHz whereas another 6GHz Wi-Fi (Wifi 6) is also coming in the future. 5GHz was introduced back in 2009 whereas 2.4GHz was introduced many years before that.
Most of the earlier Wi-Fi Routers support the 2.4 GHz band only whereas newer devices support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, bands.
5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz
5GHz Wi-Fi is faster than 2.4GHz and offers non-overlapping channels that result in lesser congestion. It perfectly suits places where many Wi-Fi routers are used nearby. However, the coverage area is relatively lower with 5GHz Wifi, and in this part, 2.4GHz excels. The radio waves wavelengths are longer in 2.4GHz that makes it better while passing through walls.
To sum it up we can say ‘5GHz is faster because of more capacity and channels while on the other hand, 2.4GHz is relatively slower but has higher area coverage’. This is exactly the reason why modern routers come with dual-band support that can use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Huawei Wi-Fi 6 devices are a sheer example of it whereas Mi Router 4C supports a single band only. Having both frequency bands in the Wi-Fi router is one of the tricks to improve your internet connection at home.
What is 5G?
5G is nothing but latest commercialized cellular technology standard. 5G means the fifth generation of cellular standards. It is faster and has many features over 4G and 3G.
Apart from the higher speed, the low latency of 5G makes it better than its predecessors (4G) and enables many innovative services like Self Driving vehicles. A few years back, 5G seemed to be a fantasy but now it has become a reality that many are enjoying globally. According to the GSM Association, 5G Network is expected to have almost 1.7 billion subscribers worldwide by 2025.
Checkout: What is 5G network and the Services/Applications?
5G utilizes greater bandwidth that gives faster download speeds. You can go up to 10GBps speed with this Network eventually. This crazy speed makes your world faster. Streaming movies, music, downloading, uploading and other stuffs are a lot faster with this Network.
Right now, phones from the premium flagship segment to the mid-range segment come with 5G support. iPhone 12, OnePlus Nord, and Mi 10 5G are already available in Nepal that have 5G network support.
In the future, 5G will be very common and will be integrated into budget phones as well. As we all know, 6G and higher cellular standards will surely overtake 5G making it a more viable option.
Check Out: Jio And Qualcomm Achieved 1Gbps Speed During Their 5G Test in India
Why do they say 5G Wi-Fi?
5G cellular network can also be used to provide home broadband solution. But at present, the term 5G Wi-Fi in Nepal is being used by ISP’s and the people. It is due to the ISP’s heavily promoting the term 5G Wifi. 5G Wi-Fi is none other than the providing Wifi internet with 5GHz band router and they used term 5G in short of 5GHz.
We have also found carriers abroad promoting 5G brand name with the latest/advanced 4G network. Although it is common to have a marketing name for some products, it has created a confusion among people. So, the 5G Wi-Fi internet have nothing to do with the 5G cellular standards, that we discussed above.
From now on please remember whenever someone ways 5G Wi-Fi Network they basically mean 5GHz Wi-Fi. Even Nepal’s most famous ISP Wordlink advertises 5G Wi-Fi using Nokia router. They even have unleashed a dedicated Worldlink 5G Wi-Fi Plan for their consumers.
As People often try to make things simpler and easier by using 5G term over 5GHz, they create or lead to such confusion. Even if you do not get the 5G Wifi from the ISPs, you can buy such 5 GHz Wifi router from the market to benefit from the advantages (discussed above).
Another ISP, Classic Tech is also going to bring 5G Wifi in Nepal with the same 5GHz router.
Check Out: Ntc 4G Covers 596 Local Levels of 77 districts in Nepal
Difference Between 5 GHz and 5G?
5G and 5 GHz aren’t the same in any way. 5G is a cellular standard whereas 5GHz is a Wi-Fi frequency band. Now the difference must be clear as crystal. ISPs have only used the 5G term for marketing (with catchy name) and people followed it for easy pronunciation.
Do checkout: Nepal Prepares for 5G network testing with spectrum assignment
We hope, we have helped you to clear the confusion between 5GHz and 5G. If you still have any questions regarding this topic, then do comment down below. We will surely look up to it and be of some help to you.
