Once fully rolled out, 5G will enhance many aspects of daily life, some of which may surprise you. Thanks to its numerous benefits, it will allow you to browse faster, be more responsive, and connect more devices to the mobile network. Here is an overview of what 5G can do for you.
1. Kick into higher gear
Ultimately, 5G’s increased speed will enable you to download much faster than what you’re used to. Whereas you could wait about six minutes to download a movie with 4G, you will be able to do it in less than 20 seconds, right on your mobile. What about ultra-high-definition video? Less than a second! This speed will also make streaming and playing video games faster in real time or virtual reality, which will be great news to many.
Expanding the potential of virtual and augmented reality
The unparalleled speed of 5G will serve the world of virtual and augmented reality, which will then be developed in all kinds of fields and blow you away. For example, you’ll be able to take virtual tours of historic sites and feel as if you were there, or relive events that had an impact on the world. You could be totally immersed in a town in another era, a mythical concert by an old band, or a hockey game next to Maurice Richard.
2. Reduce latency
Once fully deployed, 5G technology will bring significant improvements to various aspects of our daily lives. For example, its lower latency, combined with ultrafast speed, will allow for unprecedented instantaneous responsiveness.
What is latency?
Latency is the delay between launching a command on a device and the expected result. An example of high latency would be those few seconds of dead air between a news reporter’s question and foreign correspondent’s answer.
Once 5G is implemented, we will be able to perform remote actions in real time, as there will be practically zero latency—1 millisecond as opposed to today’s average 50 milliseconds. 5G will also make communications better and faster, even between multiple people at once, and even when some of them are speaking at the same time!
Smooth online gaming
All gamers agree: there’s nothing worse than when there’s lagging between their input and the game's response, especially in real-time games, where a delay can be a matter of life or death. The low latency of 5G makes for a smooth gaming experience and optimal gameplay, where any shots taken against the enemy will have instant results. Furthermore, gamers will be able to switch from playing on their console or computer to playing on their mobile while keeping the same response time and connectivity required to stay in the lead.
3. Multiply connectivity
5G technology will improve connectivity capacity, allowing more devices to be connected simultaneously in the same location.
Higher performance antennas
Smart antennas used to power the 5G technology operate differently than antennas used for 4G. For example, they transmit only when triggered, not continuously, and they process the signal by beamforming. This means that the transmitted waves converge to a specific device instead of being sent diffusely.
In this way, several focused beams can be produced at the same time to serve a multitude of connected objects and devices simultaneously with equal effectiveness and optimal connection for each. Imagine a crowd of festivalgoers attending an outdoor concert. Everyone will be able to use their mobile phone to share live content on social networks, without any lag or network interruption.
More connected devices
With 5G technology, the number of devices that can be connected to the network will increase significantly, from a current average of 2,000 devices per square kilometre to one million devices. What’s more, all of these objects in our daily lives will instantly have access to an Internet connection, which will allow them to exchange information with each other in real time. For example, a smart home will be able to increase the temperature upon detecting your arrival. Your smartwatch will also be able to tell you that a car is approaching while you’re jogging and show you what you have in your fridge when you’re at the grocery store.
Smart cities
This large number of devices connected to the 5G network will enable the birth of smart cities on a larger scale. Imagine all the data shared by the different objects and sensors and then collected to improve quality of life for the inhabitants. We can think of public transit that is better adapted to the population, of optimized public services, such as those during work on the water and electrical systems, and of increased surveillance for greater safety. Cities where self-driving cars could easily travel on specific routes and find parking, while reducing the likelihood of accidents.
What about 5G+?
5G+ is the next evolution of the 5G network. In areas where it’s available, it delivers even faster data transmission speeds. 5G+ is being rolled out first in major urban centres. See Videotron’s mobile coverage map.
Always moving forward
In conclusion, 5G is much more than a just a mobile technology upgrade—it’s transforming how we communicate, work, and live. Thanks to its lightning-fast speed, near-instant response times, and massive device capacity, it’s paving the way for a more connected future. And with the arrival of 5G+, the revolution is only just beginning.
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Mis à jour 26-06-2025
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