What is the difference between the LTE internet from the 5G network?

Immediately answering the question – yes The difference in speed between LTE and 5G is large. Standard LTE allows you to download at a speed of up to 300 megabits per second, but in practice in Poland it is often slower. A newer version – LTE Advanced – can pull up to 1 Gb/s, but it is still nothing with 5g. Here, theoretically, we are talking about speeds exceeding 1 gigabit per second, and ultimately it can be up to 20 Gb/s. However, real reality of 5G speeds on commercial networks in our country usually range from 300 Mb/s to 1 Gb/s.

What does this mean in practice? Theoretically, we will download about 5-7 minutes. We will download the same movie in about a minute. The difference will be particularly appreciated by people who often strip large files or using clouds, but during “ordinary” use of the network the difference is not so large.

The piston is not afraid of us

LTE has one serious problem – when more users gather in one place, the network begins to choke. This can be seen especially at concerts, matches or in shopping malls. 5G is doing it much better – one base station will handle up to a million devices per square kilometer.

In addition, 5g has much smaller delays -Only 1-4 milliseconds, while in LTE it is about 20-30 milliseconds. For the average user, the difference is small, but players or people conducting video conferences will immediately notice it.

Reception

Currently, the 5G network reaches about 60% of Polish households, but mainly in large cities. LTE has a definite advantage – covers over 95% of the country’s area. However, the situation changes dynamically. Operators invest in the expansion of the 5G network, although the process is slow due to the costs and technical requirements.

Interestingly, The 5G signal has a problem with the penetration through the walls of the buildings. Therefore, operators must install more transmitters, often at lower heights. LTE copes with it much better, but at the expense of lower capacity.

Is it worth switching to 5g?

It all depends on what we use mobile internet for. If we mainly browse the pages, YouTube, Tiktoka and Social Media, LTE is enough. Ba, even streaming in HD works flawlessly.

5G will be appreciated primarily by people intensively using the Internet – Players, content creators, people often participating in video conferences or astringent large files. If we have a phone that supports this network – it’s worth turning it on. If we do not have such equipment yet, in practice we do not lose so much.