5G Hype vs. Reality—What Did the Next-Gen Network Really Deliver?
It’s been several years since 5G became part of everyday life—a long enough time, surely, for the grand promises made by telecoms to materialize. From a revolution in retail to smart traffic lights talking to our cars, the hype around 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) was inescapable. But five years after 5G first rolled out to consumers, it’s time to ask: has the technology actually lived up to its boldest claims?
The Big Three Promises: Speed, Latency, Coverage
For everyday users, 5G was meant to deliver three things: gigabit data speeds (10 times faster than 4G), near-instant 1ms latency, and truly reliable coverage. The reality, however, has been far more muted.
Where Are the 5G Gigabit Speeds?
The promise of multi-gigabit downloads relied heavily on mmWave, a high-frequency technology with extremely limited range and high costs. As a result, mmWave has only been deployed in select locations—stadiums and airports in a handful of countries—while most global 5G networks still rely on upgraded 4G infrastructure.
Speed test data confirms just how far short 5G has fallen. According to Ookla, the median download speed in the US is typically around 50 Mbps, with the best-case scenarios rarely topping 200 Mbps. Europe isn’t faring much better, with average speeds between 100 and 300 Mbps, save for South Korea, which can exceed 400 Mbps.
A June 2025 GSA report finds that upload speeds are even more modest, typically between 20 and 50 Mbps. Overall, 5G is roughly three times faster than 4G—a solid improvement, but nowhere near the 10x boost initially promised. At the same time, latency remains much too high for next-gen applications like cloud gaming or immersive VR.
Coverage on Paper, But Not in Reality
Carriers love to tout impressive 5G coverage stats—80% or more in many European countries. But coverage doesn’t mean connectivity. The key metric, as measured by Opensignal, is how much time users actually spend on a live 5G connection. In the US, it’s just 37.5% of the time, and often lower in Europe. For most users, that means they’re still on 4G the majority of the time, even in areas that are technically “covered” by 5G.
5G – The Future That Never Came
What about those sci-fi use cases? Remote robotic surgery and truly autonomous smart cities are still just that—science fiction. The main reason is technical: most 5G networks worldwide are still Non-Standalone (NSA), relying on 4G infrastructure. Only 21% of networks have fully adopted Standalone (SA) 5G, which is needed for the ultra-low latency and advanced features that were once hyped as 5G’s killer apps.
Further, both Omdia and Ookla note that European carriers are lagging well behind the US, with just 2% SA availability compared to 24% in the US. As of mid-2025, another 163 operators are investing in SA 5G, but until these networks are fully deployed, many of 5G’s most advanced capabilities will remain out of reach. Notably, many of the same promises are now being recycled for the coming “5G Advanced” standard—a classic case of shifting the goalposts.
Who Paid the Price?
Operators have poured massive sums into 5G spectrum and equipment. Verizon, for example, spent $55 billion on C-band spectrum alone. Yet, OpenSignal data shows that these investments haven’t translated into higher profits, nor have they driven down data plan prices.
Consumers, for their part, have faced the burden of expensive 5G-ready devices. With increasingly complex modems and chipsets, the cost of flagship smartphones continues to rise, putting additional strain on users.
So, Was It Worth It?
All in all, 5G has brought certain improvements—namely, faster mobile data and slightly better latency. But it has fallen far short of the revolutionary leap that was promised. Operators’ ambitions were clearly too grand, and the tangible benefits for the average user remain fairly modest.
While there’s hope that broader adoption of Standalone 5G and future “5G Advanced” standards might finally deliver on those early promises, for now, skepticism is well warranted.
