How does 5G home broadband actually work?
Rather than a physical cable coming into your home, 5G home broadband uses the same mobile network that powers your smartphone but via a dedicated router designed specifically for home use. The router picks up a 5G signal from a nearby mast and distributes it as WiFi around your home. No engineer visit, no installation wait, no digging up your garden. You receive the router in the post, plug it in, and you are online within minutes.
What speeds can you genuinely expect?
In ideal conditions near an uncongested 5G mast, you might genuinely see 150-400Mbps. In less favourable conditions or during busy periods, speeds can drop to 50-100Mbps or even lower. The variability is the main thing to be aware of. Unlike fixed-line full fibre where speeds are largely consistent, 5G home broadband performance can fluctuate through the day.
Where 5G home broadband makes real sense
If you rent your property and move frequently, 5G home broadband travels with you. If you live somewhere where fixed-line broadband options are genuinely poor and you have strong 5G coverage, it could deliver significantly better speeds than anything available over copper.
Where it does not make sense
If full fibre is available at your address at a reasonable price, that will almost always deliver more consistent speeds and better upload performance than 5G home broadband.
