Do you rely on 4G for your business communications? Well get ready for the next level of convenience: 5G is on its way. Here’s what this technology could mean for your small business.

1. 5G will be more reliable.

A lot of the hype surrounding the 5G network focuses on its speed, and it will indeed be mega-fast. Some say that 5G will be as much as 1000 times faster than 4G, from the network perspective. For business consumers, this will translate to anywhere from 10 to 100 times what we currently experience. Naturally, that will be a noticeable difference! But perhaps more importantly, 5G will also be more resilient of a network. The number of devices connecting to the network increases each day, so new networks need to boost capacity to be able to handle so many connections at once. For 5G to get up off the ground, it will need to be able to be more resilient. Developers like Nokia Networks 5G are looking at building up multiple small cells in urban areas to pick up the slack. 5G will also feature lower latency, or a quicker time for internet requests to finish.

2. It won’t be available all at once.

So 5G will be faster, more resilient, and offer low latency. To get this to work, developers need time. It would be easy to believe that 5G is right around the corner with the amount of attention it’s receiving, but in actuality we won’t see it for at least another five years. There will be demonstrations of what it will look like before then; for example 5G is expected to be available at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. This could actually be good news for business owners because you won’t have to worry about upgrading all of your equipment all at once!

A global standard will have to be agreed upon for 5G, because it will need higher frequency radio bands to use in order to cope with high demand. Versatile 5G Radio will use these higher frequency bands to carry data faster, but will require more radio masts clustered in tight cells. This will take some time to roll out, essentially.

3. It will make long-distance communication more exciting.

When we do finally have 5G available, it will make it easier and more exciting at once to communicate with long-distance colleagues or clients. You’ll be able to have video chats without any fear of dropped calls, and in fact may even be able to chat via 3D holographic calls. This technology has already been talked about by big names like Skype, so it may be sooner than you think.

4. It will also ease your commute (or telecommute).

With easier, faster, and more innovative forms of long distance communication, telecommuting will be easier for the global workforce. But what about those of us who still commute to a brick and mortar establishment? Smart, connected cities will reduce your commuting time with improved traffic flow and public transport that sends you automatic real-time alerts.

5. It could make your office more efficient.

Finally, this technology could lead to positive changes within the office itself. Small businesses who always need to be looking at ways to cut costs are in luck, because with the rise of superfast networks you’ll be better able to coordinate your devices in order to boost efficiency. Appliances may be able to automatically shut on or off according to your predicted use, and you’d be better able to target customers with super of-the-moment sales alerts. Think of what mobile apps can do now, and then imagine if they were upgraded to provide nearly instantaneous data alerts. These are all reasons why 5G development is worth watching as a business owner.