我试过5G，它会改变你的生活

我试过5G，它会改变你的生活

Self-driving cars. Robotic surgeries. Toothbrushes that detect when you're sick.

自动驾驶汽车。机器人手术。可以检测到你生病的牙刷。

This is the future 5G technology promises in less than a decade's time; internet connections so fast they'll support an entirely new way of life.

这是未来5G技术在不到十年的时间里的承诺;互联网连接如此之快，它们将支持一种全新的生活方式。

But for now, I'm standing on an avenue in downtown Chicago waving my Samsung Galaxy 5G smartphone around to find coverage that's not blocked by the tree to my left.

但现在，我正站在芝加哥市中心的一条大街上，挥舞着我的三星Galaxy 5G智能手机，寻找没有被我左边那棵树挡住的地方。

I finally take a few steps back from the lamppost, adorned by a hard-to-miss, clunky black antenna, and bam, my Netflix download begins: a complete download of a two-hour film in less than 10 seconds — in stark contrast to the seven-or-so minutes it'd typically take on 4G.

我终于从灯柱前退了几步，灯柱上挂着一根很难找到的笨重的黑色天线。砰的一声，我在Netflix上的下载开始了:不到10秒就下载完了一部两小时的电影——与4G上通常需要7分钟左右的时间形成鲜明对比。

This was my experience testing the newly launched Verizon 5G network in Chicago last month. When it worked, it really worked, often hitting over 1 gigabit per second in speed tests — an incredible feat for a piece of technology that fits in your pocket. 4G LTE in the United States averages about 35 megabits per second. 5G, the fifth generation of cellular network technology, is nearly 30 times faster — and about 10 times faster than the average American home broadband speed.

这是我上个月在芝加哥测试新推出的Verizon 5G网络的经验。当它工作的时候，它真的工作了，在速度测试中经常达到每秒1千兆比特——对于一个可以装进你口袋的技术来说，这是一个不可思议的壮举。美国的4G LTE平均每秒约35兆比特。5G是第五代移动网络技术，速度快了近30倍，大约是美国家庭宽带平均速度的10倍。

But 5G isn't just about speeds on smartphones. Other technologies will be made possible with its ability to handle much more bandwidth, allowing the data from sensors, thermostats, cars and robots to work together in real time.

但5G不仅仅是智能手机上的速度。凭借其处理更多带宽的能力，其他技术也将成为可能，允许来自传感器、恒温器、汽车和机器人··的数据实时地一起工作。

Think of it like this: If 3G is a two-lane highway and 4G is six lanes, 5G will turn it into 12 lanes. It'll handle significantly more traffic and bandwidth with zero latency.

可以这样想:如果3G是一条双车道公路，而4G是6车道，那么5G将把它变成12车道。它将零延迟处理更多的流量和带宽。

Mobile carriers are pouring billions of dollars into 5G. The new networks and associated technologies are expected to add $17 trillion to the global GDP by 2035, according to ABI Research. But there will be a significant lag between 5G's rollout and that financial impact. It's not dissimilar to the 3G iPhone — an impressive piece of standalone technology that didn't make a big economic impact until a year later with the arrival of the App Store.

移动运营商正在向5G投入数十亿美元。ABI Research预计，到2035年，新网络和相关技术将为全球GDP增加17万亿美元。但5G的推出和其财务影响之间将存在显著滞后。它与3G版iPhone没有什么不同——这是一项令人印象深刻的独立技术，直到一年后应用商店的出现才对经济产生了重大影响。

We've maxed out the 4G capabilities of what our phones can do, but 5G could offer a doorway into what's next. However, carriers have a long way to go before they deliver on that promise.

我们已经最大限度地发挥了手机的4G功能，但5G可以为我们打开通往未来的大门。然而，运营商要兑现这一承诺还有很长的路要走。

My 5G network tests, often performed via the Speedtest app, were inconsistent. If I turned a street corner on Verizon, 5G went out of range — a major drawback to the high-frequency spectrum approach being adopted by some carriers. That technology delivers lightning-fast speeds but doesn't cover wide areas, penetrate indoors and can be blocked by rain or, in my case, leaves.

我的5G网络测试通常是通过Speedtest应用程序进行的，结果不一致。如果我在Verizon上转过街角，5G就超出了范围——这是一些运营商采用高频频谱方式的一个主要缺陷。这项技术的速度快如闪电，但覆盖面不广，无法穿透室内，而且可能被雨水或树叶阻挡。