This is what the 'G' in 5G actually stands for
Published on Aug 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Aug 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
There’s a good chance you use it every single day, but did you know what the G in 5G stands for?
Introduced as a successor to 4G, 5G technology has been used around the world since 2019.
Compared to earlier versions, like 4G and 3G, it offers higher download speeds and lower latency, which, in short, means it’s much faster.
But do you actually know what the G in 5G stands for?
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Ever wondered what the G in 5G stands for?
When it comes to technology, there are all sorts of acronyms and abbreviations, often to make complicated names a bit easier to pronounce.
Tech guru Steve Jobs once revealed what the i in iPhone stands for, while e-mail got its name from ‘electronic mail’, and AI is short for Artificial Intelligence, of course.
Although the cellular network 5G technology has been around for a while now, it seems some folks don’t actually know what the ‘G’ means.
But it’s actually pretty straightforward.
The G in 3G, 4G, and 5G simply means ‘generation’ – as in, fifth-generation, fourth-generation, or third-generation.
This means the next generation will be known as 6G and so on and so forth.
To confuse things slightly, if you happen to have 10G internet at home, that has nothing to do with 5G cellular technology.
The G in 10G actually stands for ‘gigabit’, as the technology is able to transmit data at speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second.
The UAE is already working on 6G technology
Although 5G is currently the fastest cellular network out there, the UAE is already working on launching 6G.
In April last year, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) of UAE shared a roadmap detailing how it would launch the newer, faster tech by 2030.
TDRA said 6G will help to advance technologies, including AI, remote surgeries, and diagnostics.
“This technology is expected to enhance the capabilities of robotics and elevate artificial intelligence,” a TDRA spokesperson said in a statement.
“It holds the potential to revolutionize various domains, including autonomous intelligent transportation systems and transformative developments in healthcare, such as remote surgery and diagnostics.”
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
