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For the past few years, we've all been watching 5G roll out for our phones,

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but did you know it can also replace your entire home internet connection without all the messy wires?

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Okay, I'm interested. But can what is essentially a glorified cell phone connection

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really replace cable or even fiber? Well, it depends.

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Wireless internet to the home certainly isn't new, but 5G offers advantages previous technologies don't.

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Satellite internet often has limited speeds and high latency,

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making it generally unsuitable for real-time applications like gaming.

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And although satellite internet constellation services like Starlink try to solve these problems,

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your mileage may vary. There are also wireless ISPs or wisps that commonly use different frequencies than 5G

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to beam internet signals from access points on towers or buildings

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to home modems with antennas attached. While these kinds of connections typically don't have latency issues as severe as satellite links,

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you usually need a clear line of sight between the access point and the home antenna,

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as those signals tend to be beamed in one direction.

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Modern 5G home internet aims to provide higher speeds and more acceptable latency

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without needing a clear line of sight. Think about how you can often get a 5G connection on your phone just fine indoors, for example.

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And whereas satellite internet and wisps are usually targeted at folks in underserved

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rural areas that might not have adequate options for a wired internet service,

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5G is trying to make inroads even in areas where consumers could easily get cable or fiber.

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But what exactly is the appeal? Well, a big one is convenience.

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If you don't already have cable or fiber lines running to your house,

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you don't have to wait around for a technician to come and do an install between the hours of

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7am and 11pm. And even for people who do have cable and fiber connections ready to go,

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you aren't tied to wherever that cable or Ethernet jack is when it comes to modem placement.

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Just plug in the 5G receiver anywhere you have a power socket,

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and if your signal isn't great, pick it up, plug it in somewhere else.

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Another possible advantage is cost. Although this aspect is going to vary quite a bit,

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depending on which providers are in your area and exactly what they charge,

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it's possible to get more than adequate speed for less money than a wired connection,

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especially if you're using the same provider you get your phone service from and snag a bundle

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discount. But this doesn't mean you should run out and buy a 5G home connection right now,

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as there are certainly a number of potential pitfalls.

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Let's start with the most obvious thing to consider here. You need a good 5G signal in your house.

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And even if you have that, 5G speeds simply aren't high enough everywhere to compete with cable or

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fiber. If you're in the market and you already have a 5G phone,

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one strategy is to run a speed test on your phone to get some kind of rough idea of the

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performance you'll get on home 5G. But you won't know for sure until you get your 5G modem up and running.

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Speaking of performance, you might see bigger swings in speed and latency than you would on

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a wired connection due to the less consistent nature of wireless signals and variable loads on

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the network. Unfortunately, this is really a try it and see kind of problem.

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Some folks have had no problems gaming on 5G home connections,

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while others have had latency swings that have resulted in serious hiccups during gameplay.

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And while these issues are certainly possible with wired connections,

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you'll be more susceptible to them with 5G generally speaking.

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Also, you really need to be aware of exactly what you're signing up for.

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A while back, we did another video explaining that there are several different flavors of 5G,

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from the ultra-fast but very short-range millimeter wave

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to low-band 5G that's not that different from 4G LTE performance.

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And unfortunately, some of the faster versions of 5G don't penetrate through walls as well as 4G.

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If you're in doubt about exactly what kind of 5G technology and ISP you're considering offers,

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be sure to ask, especially as some providers that advertise 5G

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will often fall back to a 4G LTE connection if the actual 5G connection reaching your home

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is in a bad mood. But also remember that a lower-band connection can actually give you better signal strength.

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In fact, low-band 5G around 700MHz is often marketed as rural broadband,

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with reliability as a big selling point. But speaking of low-band connections,

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a good number of network operators that advertise 5G home internet

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still use a 4G backbone after the signal gets to the tower.

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So keep in mind that both speed and latency may suffer as a result.

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Finally, don't forget about upload speeds. If you're fortunate enough to have an ISP in your area offering fiber,

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they'll usually offer upload speeds that are just as fast as download speeds.

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But as is the case with most home cable connections,

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you might be hard-pressed to get super-goddy upload speeds with 5G home internet.

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But all of this said, if you're in an area with good 5G coverage,

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aren't super worried about online gaming performance or other latency-sensitive applications

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like video conferencing, and you can stand to save a few bucks,

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5G home internet might just be worth looking into. Especially as latency doesn't matter as much if you're just trying to

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download large files or watch YouTube. As long as you wear your tinfoil nightcap to bed.

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Just joking. But I'm not joking when I say thank you for watching.

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Hey, like the video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it.

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Check out our other videos, comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe and follow.

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You're funny.