Where is 5G on the wavelength spectrum?

The 5G spectrum is a range of radio frequencies in the sub-6 GHz range and the millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency range that is 24.25 GHz and above . The 5G spectrum refers to the radio frequencies that carry data from user equipment (UE) to cellular base stations to the data’s endpoint.

The 5G standard uses millimeter waves, which are a lot shorter than the wavelengths 4G uses . The shorter wavelength means 5G can carry a lot of data much faster than 4G, but it also means a much shorter range. 4G wavelengths have a range of about 10 miles.

In addition, 5G can operate on a new high-frequency spectrum — millimeter wave (MM wave) — which operates on wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz, compared to 4G LTE’s wavelengths of under 6 GHz . Due to the MM wave spectrum, 5G requires new small cell base stations to operate and function.