Global smartphone data speeds are up thanks to 5G rollout

Cellular data speeds have begun increasing around the globe as more people have access to 5G, offering higher speeds and lower latency "almost everywhere."

A new report from OpenSignal shows that data speeds are up globally thanks to the widespread rollout of 5G, which began in late 2019.

Download speeds have increased notably in South Korea. Prior to 5G launching, South Korean users averaged 52.4 Mbps but now average 129.7 Mbps. These speed increases have resulted in South Korea being listed as the best place to play online games based on internet speed.

Users in Canada have also seen a notable speed boost, rising from 42.5 Mbps to 64.1 Mbps on average. Users in the U.K. saw an increase from 21.7 Mbps to 39.7 Mbps, while those in the U.S. also saw a modest increase from 21.3 Mbps to 37 Mbps.

While 5G has helped boost speeds globally, it's far from finalized. OpenSource reminds readers that 5G is still in the nascent stages, and that the service will continue to improve over time, just as 4G did.

To date, almost all 5G services use early versions of the 5G standard — mostly Release 15. Every few years the main industry standards body — the 3GPP — coordinates the creation of a new technology mark which vendors and mobile operators aim to use to improve users' experience. There are already several versions of 5G either at various stages of development or which have been finalized and will soon see widespread commercial deployments.

The iPhone 12 was the first of Apple's lineup to be compatible with 5G, launching in October 2020. Now, the iPhone 13, fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, third-generation 11-inch iPad Pro, and the sixth-generation iPad Mini also work with 5G mobile networks.

46 Comments

Kuyangkoh 7 Years · 838 comments

About 2 years ago

US still lags?? Canada way better. Its a WOW

ihatescreennames 19 Years · 1977 comments

I’m still not understanding how 5G on my iPhone matters. I have yet to see anyone watching 5 streams of sports video simultaneously and very little mobile gaming (and the mobile gaming I usually see is something like Candy Crush or Solitaire which are not bandwidth intensive).

Will it matter in the future? Possibly, but the future doesn’t make a difference on the phone I have now.

GeorgeBMac 8 Years · 11421 comments

ihatescreennames said:

I’m still not understanding how 5G on my iPhone matters. I have yet to see anyone watching 5 streams of sports video simultaneously and very little mobile gaming (and the mobile gaming I usually see is something like Candy Crush or Solitaire which are not bandwidth intensive).

Will it matter in the future? Possibly, but the future doesn’t make a difference on the phone I have now.

Yeh, you're right. We should have stuck with 3G. It was good enough. /s

Kuyangkoh said:

US still lags?? Canada way better. Its a WOW

The U.S. seems to lag in a lot of things.
We've prioritized private enterprise profits over national infrastructure for 2-3 decades -- and it's showing.
While our stock markets continue hitting all time highs, hundreds of thousands of Americans die prematurely every year because our public health agencies were gutted and their functions turned over to private industry, bridges are falling down -- and telecommunications are lagging with millions of Americans not only having slow connections but NO connections.

But, but, but... Aren't taxes evil and government totally inept? /s

roly 13 Years · 75 comments

ihatescreennames said:

I’m still not understanding how 5G on my iPhone matters. I have yet to see anyone watching 5 streams of sports video simultaneously and very little mobile gaming (and the mobile gaming I usually see is something like Candy Crush or Solitaire which are not bandwidth intensive).

Will it matter in the future? Possibly, but the future doesn’t make a difference on the phone I have now.

Ping times / latency is much better on 5G, which translates to much quicker page loads and lag free video calls and gaming. It’s not just about raw speed. Also less congested cells due to greater network capacity means less chance of service degradation etc. so it is benefiting you now even though you don’t realise