Most of our smart devices today use 4G LTE for calling, texting, and using various apps, without the need of an internet connection. So far, it’s the fastest telecommunication service available, but it may not be holding that ranking in the future. The reason why is because AT&T has officially announced that it is now testing out 5G wireless services for smart devices.

A 5G network isn’t just going to make calling and texting faster. Today, with our smart devices, we are possible to do more than simply call or text other people. However, due to the over-usage of wireless data, some possible features of these devices won’t work as well.

With the launch of a  5G network, AT&T is shooting for 10-100 times faster speed rates than 4G.  For a phone connected to a 4G LTE service, the average data bandwidth is 100 Mbps (megabits per second) at the minimum. As for 5G, the average minimum data bandwidth is 1.5 Gbps (gigabits per second), which is 5 times faster than what 4G LTE has to offer.

With an improvement over past services, what good uses can 5G make? Well, 5G may be a good service to have when traveling a lot, as the speed for downloading movies and tv shows has massively improved from 4G. When downloading a tv episode on a 4G network, it may take between 1 to 15 minutes. As for a 5G network, it takes less than three seconds to download that same episode.

The 5G network is not only good for downloading massive files, but also for uploading massive files, such as 4K videos. Nokia is also experimenting with 5G, by adding cellular sensors to roads to help signal driverless-cars from any car crashes or other accidents. A 5G network is also perfect for fulfilling bandwidth-hungry applications, like virtual reality, and video games.

And because of the added Gbps, the range of the 5G service goes out even farther. Normally, a 4G service would travel up to 20 Mhz. As for 5G, the service can travel up to 60 Mhz, which is three times faster than the traveling distance of a 4G network. This means there are going to be fewer dead zones, which are areas that hold no service for a smart device. In fact, 5G could even make the entire world a wireless hotspot.

However, there are some challenges to make this service available to all. First, a 5G network will have to protect people’s data from security threats. And because of the rate of how fast data is being sent and received, the cyberlaw may also affect 5G’s performance, as the government has a right to look over cellular data. Data traffic is also a problem. If everyone tries to use the service at the same place and the exact same time, the service may have a hard time accomplishing everyone’s needs.

But all together, AT&T says that its new 5G service will be available in 2020. As for Verizon, it announced its plans for 5G technologies in 2015, but also said that their release date is around the same time as AT&T. Sprint hasn’t said much about 5G yet, while T-Mobile is keeping quiet about the idea of having this service.