If all your neighbors get on 5G with you, you are no longer going to get anywhere near the speeds you currently have. The real benefit of 5G for the phone networks is the higher frequencies means the signals don't penetrate as well, cover a lot smaller of an area which means they can have more radios - to provide more capacity without overlapping.
It also means 5G only makes economical sense in the densest of areas. 5G isn't coming to the 'burbs any time soon. When you get into the one radio per couple of houses you might as well just run fiber.
Universal wireless internet is a fantasy - there simply isn't enough capacity over the air - just look at the growing pains starlink is already experiencing in areas of just moderate density. Wireless has it's place, but it will never be sufficient for base load.
> The real benefit of 5G for the phone networks is the higher frequencies means the signals don't penetrate as well, cover a lot smaller of an area which means they can have more radios - to provide more capacity without overlapping.
Nope, density is manageable in most frequency ranges. The advantage to the mmwave frequency bands is that they have larger channel sizes (up to 400MHz), which allows for faster speeds.
It's cheaper to place a single 5G cell antenna for every 10 homes than to run FTTH to 10 homes. Home users don't need 24x7 bandwidth and generally have sporadic bursts making it possible to oversubscribe.
It also means 5G only makes economical sense in the densest of areas. 5G isn't coming to the 'burbs any time soon. When you get into the one radio per couple of houses you might as well just run fiber.
Universal wireless internet is a fantasy - there simply isn't enough capacity over the air - just look at the growing pains starlink is already experiencing in areas of just moderate density. Wireless has it's place, but it will never be sufficient for base load.
The laws of physics are a harsh mistress.