The study, carried out by T-Mobile and HarrisX, also revealed that 57% of Americans say they are aware of 5G
Some 64% of Americans believe 5G technology will be widely available in the U.S. before 2020, according to a research study carried out by T-Mobile US and HarrisX.
The new 5G Consumer Index tracking 5G-related consumer attitudes is planned to be produced quarterly. The inaugural survey found that a large majority of Americans expect 5G to impact their personal lives, rural communities, the economy, business and government.
“Consumer sentiment around tech innovation and 5G in particular is widely positive, with big expectations for impact on job creation, business, and various facets of people’s personal lives like healthcare management in the near future,” said Dritan Nesho, chief researcher and CEO of HarrisX. “Expectations are high, with over 2 in 3 Americans believing 5G will become a reality by 2020, which will require significant investment by the public and private sector to get there.”
In the inaugural study’s findings, 57% of survey respondents said they are aware of 5G technology and, of those who are aware, 90% believe 5G will be better than 4G/LTE. Sixty-four percent of Americans who are aware of 5G expect that the technology will be “widely available” before 2020.
Respondents find improvements like reliability (93%), speed (92%), and wider coverage (91%) to be the most appealing aspects of 5G, according to the study.
Also, 61% believe that 5G will be easy for users to adopt; however, 30% of consumers believe that the cost of upgrading and difficulty in learning how to use a new technology will make 5G difficult to adopt.
One in three Americans view the United States as the global leader in 5G, with 28% undecided, and the rest divided among an array of other countries.
The study also found that 94% of Americans agree that it is critical for the U.S to invest in technological innovation.
The study results are based on data from 5,000 internet-connect U.S. adults collected in mid-December, a sample that the two companies said is both nationally representative and includes representative samples from 23 U.S. markets. Participants in Miami, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Houston, Texas were identified as the most excited for 5G.
In August, T-Mobile had announced plans to build 5G in 30 cities by the end of 2018, including New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas and Las Vegas, followed by a commercial launch in 2019. The company’s CEO John Legere said nationwide coverage was expected for 2020.
Meanwhile, Sprint recently announced its intention to deploy 5G technology this year in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Sprint is currently in the process of putting its 2.5 GHz spectrum to work using dual-mode massive MIMO antennas that can simultaneously support LTE and 5G.
AT&T and Verizon have already made public 5G launches, with limited geographic availability in specific markets.
