There is no denying the popularity of the fifth generation (5G) of wireless technology. However, even if web professionals want to get with the times, adapting websites to this new standard for cellular networks can be complicated. What is the best way to go about it?
The Complete Rollout of 5G Is Inevitable
Most of America relies on fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology. While the United States Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has mapped broadband service availability across the country, it has yet to move forward with its investments — until now. Like most government agencies, it has taken its sweet time getting started.
The FCC announced it was moving forward with its 5G fund in August 2024, paving the way for 4G’s successor to catch on in rural America. It plans to increase the budget to $9 billion for the project’s first phase, with an additional $900 million in incentives for developing interoperable mobile networks.
In the announcement, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency is “ready to use every tool available” to ensure the people who live in and travel through rural communities in America can access the latest mobile wireless broadband. This reignited interest in 5G expansion proves this technology is here to say.
Other reports support the idea that 5G’s popularity will grow exponentially. Some experts predict 5G mobile subscribers will reach 5.56 billion by 2029, up from 12.49 million in 2019 — a staggering 44,454% increase. Within one decade of this technology’s deployment, almost everyone in the world will be using it.
The Synergy Between 5G and Web Development
Why do 5G technology and web development work better together? For one, 5G’s network capacity is 100 times larger than what 4G was capable of. It can handle massive traffic — even unexpected usage spikes — without slowing. This improvement translates to seamless engagement and a better user experience for website visitors.
Coincidentally, its download speeds are around 100 times faster, reaching up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) compared to 4G’s 150 megabits per second maximum. Even with the more advanced 4G LTE’s top speeds of 1 Gbps, the newer technology is still 10 times faster. While its average speed is much lower, having room to grow as adoption picks up is essential.
Professionals can thank orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing — what a mouthful — for 5G’s unparalleled transmission rates. Instead of sending information over one channel, it splits the data across multiple frequencies, enabling it to deliver more simultaneously. For website visitors, this translates to faster speeds.
This technology’s latency — the time it takes data to move from one point to another — is also impressive. It is approximately 200 times lower than what 4G had, meaning there is little to no delay when people interact with web applications. This improvement paves the way for more resource-intensive pages since those changes no longer affect end users.
Do Web Developers Need to Adapt to 5G?
You must adapt to the latest generation of wireless technology because it gives you optimization opportunities. For starters, it lets you have media-rich content. You will be able to support bandwidth-intensive media like 4k video or augmented reality (AR) graphics because 5G enables efficient resource delivery.
Adapting to increased 5G use is about more than making your website faster and more responsive. Proceeding with adaptation sooner rather than later is essential because most other web professionals will soon. It will help ensure your website does not become technologically outdated — meaning irrelevant — helping you maintain a competitive advantage.
Most of the global population — over 95% of people as of the first quarter of 2024 — uses mobile devices to access the internet. In other words, most, if not all, of your website visitors may soon experience the benefits of 5G. You must make your website responsive, adaptive and fast to appeal to them.
This way, you will reach a larger audience, potentially increasing your website’s traffic. The latest generation in wireless technology supports more devices in a single area, meaning a 5G-enabled website can handle more visitors without experiencing lag or crashes. Moreover, higher data throughput effectively removes mobile devices’ hardware limitations.
The bottom line is that users will be used to 5G-enabled websites after experiencing it for a while elsewhere. Already, most grow impatient if they spend even one second longer waiting for a page to load than expected. What makes you think things will be different once an exponentially faster wireless technology fully rolls out?
Tips for Developing a 5G-Centric Website
Since 5G enables media-rich content and interactive AR graphics without sacrificing resources, you should incorporate these elements into your site. Decide where to strategically leverage them to make the most impact. Even if most of your website visitors can handle it, drastically increasing your load time for a minority of people still raises your bounce rate.
When adding media-rich content to your website, keep 5G’s limitations in mind. While this technology is fast, its speed varies depending on which spectrum band is at play. While extremely high-frequency millimeter wave ranges from 30 gigahertz (GHz) to 300 GHz, low band operates below 2.4 GHz where 4G gets priority.
Distance also plays a role. The faster 5G is, the less it can reach. For this reason, many people who have upgraded to 5G rely on 2.3 GHz or 2.4 GHz. Even 5 GHz is not widespread yet. While you want to future-proof your website, you should be wary of over-optimizing in the beginning since it may leave users with slower, less responsive connections behind.
5G’s high data transmission rates and fast download speeds create new opportunities for interactivity and collaboration — namely, real-time activity. You could have comment sections or collaborative spaces without sacrificing resources or artificially increasing your loading times. Consider leveraging social-media-like elements to drive engagement.
How Soon Should You Adapt to 5G Technology?
Since 5G is better than its predecessor in almost every way, you should consider adapting your website to it sooner rather than later. However, you have time — if estimates are to be believed. While this technology’s popularity is rising exponentially, you have a few years before the majority of the world’s population uses it to browse the internet via mobile devices.