After years of hype and a bumpy first year of launches, carrier 5G networks are almost here. The technology is supposed to change your life with its revolutionary speed and responsiveness. But before we get into that, it’s important to understand what the technology is, when and how it will affect you, and how to distinguish between (the still growing) hype and reality.

Just like with everything else, you must give 5G some time to mature.

Things are certainly getting better — carriers continue to expand 5G coverage into more cities, and new devices compatible with multiple networks are coming out. But just how quickly that life-changing aspect of 5G will arrive remains up in the air. That’s exacerbated by the novel coronavirus, which has locked down millions around the world, potentially slowing the 5G rollout and dampening consumer enthusiasm for pricey new devices, even with those stimulus checks.

All this means 5G is slowly inching from years of promises — ever since Verizon talked about moving into the area four and a half years ago to AT&T kicking off the first official mobile network at the end of 2018 and T-Mobile going nationwide in December — to becoming reality for more than a handful of early adopters. Beyond a big speed boost, 5G has been referred to as foundational tech that’ll supercharge areas like self-driving cars, virtual and augmented reality and telemedicine services such as remote surgery. It will eventually connect everything from farming equipment to security cameras and, of course, your smartphone.

But what exactly is 5G? Why are people so excited? This CNET Report is a breakdown of why the next generation of wireless technology is more than just a boost in speed. (If you’re really interested, check out our glossary of 5G terms.)

What is 5G?

It’s the next (fifth) generation of cellular technology, and it promises to greatly enhance the speed, coverage and responsiveness of wireless networks. How fast are we talking? Carriers like Verizon and AT&T have shown speeds surging past 1 gigabit per second.

That’s 10 to 100 times speedier than your typical cellular connection, and even faster than anything you can get with a physical fiber-optic cable going into your house. (In optimal conditions, you’ll be able to download a season’s worth of Stranger Things in seconds.)

Is it just about speed?

No! One of the key benefits is something called low latency. You’ll hear this term a lot. Latency is the response time between when you click on a link or start streaming a video on your phone, which sends the request up to the network, and when the network responds, delivering you the website or playing your video.

That lag time can last around 20 milliseconds with current networks. It doesn’t seem like much, but with 5G, that latency gets reduced to as little as 1 millisecond, or about the time it takes for a flash on a normal camera.

That responsiveness is critical for things like playing an intense video game in virtual reality or for a surgeon in New York to control a pair of robotic arms performing a procedure in San Francisco. You know that little lag when you’re on a Zoom video conference call? 5G will help eliminate some of those awkward, “Sorry, you go ahead” moments after people talk over each other. That lag time won’t completely go away, especially if you’re communicating with someone halfway around the world. The distance matters, since that info still has to travel there and back.

But a virtually lag-free connection means self-driving cars have a way to communicate with each other in real time — assuming there’s enough 5G coverage to connect those vehicles.

Are there other benefits?

The 5G network is designed to connect a far greater number of devices than a traditional cellular network does. That internet of things trend you keep hearing about? 5G can power multiple devices around you, whether it’s a dog collar or a refrigerator.

The 5G network was also specifically built to handle gear used by businesses, such as farm equipment or ATMs, and can adjust for differing needs. For example, some products like sensors for farming equipment don’t need a constant connection. Those kinds of low-power scanners are intended to work on the same battery for 10 years and still be able to periodically send data.

How does it work?

5G initially used super high-frequency spectrum, which has shorter range but higher capacity, to deliver a massive pipe for online access. Think of it as a glorified Wi-Fi hotspot.

But given the range and interference issues, the carriers are also using lower-frequency spectrum — the type used in today’s networks — to help ferry 5G across greater distances and through walls and other obstructions.

Last year, Sprint (now part of T-Mobile) claimed it has the biggest 5G network because it’s using its 2.5 gigahertz band of spectrum, which offers wider coverage. But T-Mobile in December launched a nationwide network using even lower-frequency spectrum, which can spread further. T-Mobile intends to use Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum to add more speed to its network. AT&T also launched 5G with lower bands at the end of last year, and says it plans to have nationwide coverage by the end of summer.

The result is that the insane speeds companies first promised won’t always be there, but we’ll still see a boost from what we get today with 4G LTE.