what is the difference between upload and download speed

Perhaps more important than actual download speed, at least initially, is latency. That’s why mmWave could prove important in places like stadiums, where potentially thousands of people could be connected to a network at once. The more people connected to a cell tower at once, the less bandwidth that can be dedicated to you specifically.

That’s a massive increase, and it goes hand in hand with T-Mobile’s impressively large availability and reach.ĭownload speeds don’t just vary depending on your type of 5G connectivity they’ll also vary depending on how many people are connected to the network. T-Mobile is the reigning king though, with an impressive average download speed of 150Mbps. Verizon’s average is a little quicker, at 56.2Mbps. At the lowest end is AT&T with average 5G download speeds of 49.1Mbps - which isn’t much faster than your typical 4G network. That will likely change as time goes on and carriers improve the quality of the 5G networks.Īccording to a recent report from Opensignal, there’s a massive gulf between carriers at the moment. The currently available nationwide networks all depend on low-band 5G, and while there are pockets of mmWave coverage around the country, you won’t spend much time, if any, in those pockets. For more about the 5G spectrum and the different types of 5G, check out our guide. The opposite is true for the high-band mmWave spectrum - you’ll get superfast download speeds, but radio waves can’t travel far or make their way through obstacles. The low-band spectrum, often referred to as Sub-6, is able to travel long distances and penetrate obstacles, but it delivers slower download speeds. For the uninitiated, 5G is made up of a few different frequency bands. Of course, download speeds vary a lot depending on the type of 5G you’re connected to. Still, those speeds are not available anywhere right now and are mostly dependent on the modem inside your device. The latest flavors of 4G LTE-A can theoretically go as high as 1Gbps, which ranges into 5G territory. Then there’s the issue of carriers mislabeling their networks many labeled HSPA+, which is a 3G technology, as 4G. The averages here are approximate, and all the different technologies complicate the results because each generation has evolved and continued to grow, even after the next generation began to roll out.

What is the difference between upload and download speed