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- Mobile-network providers touted 5G as a tech revolution when it hit the US market in 2018.
- But five years on, the promise hasn't borne out, largely because of 5G's nontraditional rollout.
- Experts told BI network-infrastructure changes were underway and would make all the difference.
- This article is part of "5G Playbook," a series exploring one of our time's most important tech innovations.
5G swept onto the US mobile scene with great fanfare in 2018. In TV ads, online banners, and radio spots, mobile-network providers touted gigabit download speeds, zero latency, and the ability to connect everything from autonomous vehicles to robot surgeons. So far, the technology hasn't delivered on those promises.