5G: How Fast Is It, and Why Do We Need It?

Updated on May 15, 2025

New, faster, better – 5G took the industry by storm. Digital Republic was also quick to adopt standardised 5G connectivity. With speeds of up to 2000 Mbps, 5G theoretically enables gigabit connectivity over the air. In practice, such speeds are unlikely to be achieved, but 5G is nevertheless important in many ways for Switzerland’s digital infrastructure and your experience as a user. Below, you will find everything you need to know about the latest mobile communications standard.

5G is the new mobile communications standard that has been rolled out in Switzerland since 2019 and provides faster and more reliable internet. Although 5G is based on the conventional LTE standard (Long Term Evolution or 4G), it uses new, so-called “adaptive antennas.” These can transmit information to users in such a targeted manner that they receive the best possible transmission rate. This means that surfing speeds of 2 Gbit/s are now possible, and in the future even up to 10 Gbit/s. 5G is therefore two to ten times faster than the older 4G standard!

With 5G, you can surf the web using less energy, experience fewer network disruptions, and enjoy faster response times for internet applications. If you’re interested in the technical details, we’ll tell you more later!

Faster surfing than ever before sounds tempting, of course. However, in order to exploit the full potential of 5G, a few prerequisites must be met.

First, your device must be 5G-compatible. Most new devices from well-known manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, Google, and Huawei can surf the 5G network. Digitec and other online shops provide filters that give you a clear overview of compatible devices. This allows you to quickly find out whether your smartphone or tablet is 5G-compatible. Please note that 5G devices purchased abroad may not be approved for use or may not be compatible.

Of course, you also need to be near a 5G antenna to receive 5G. Our network operator Sunrise offers 5G coverage across almost the whole of Switzerland. If you are inside a building, you may experience some interference, for example due to the building’s insulation.

To benefit from the maximum possible speed, your subscription should of course also support full 5G speed. With Digital Republic, this is already included in the Flat Mobile and Flat Mobile Plus mobile phone subscriptions for CHF 18 and CHF 25 respectively, as well as in the Flat 2000 data-only tariff.

You can find out more about Digital Republic’s mobile phone subscriptions here.

Are you wondering why 5G is necessary at all and why it is attracting so much public attention? Both businesses and individual consumers are consuming more and more data. Conventional technologies are reaching their limits and network operators are facing increasing challenges. As the latest and fastest mobile communications standard, 5G is better equipped to handle the growing volume of data traffic worldwide.

Not only does 5G enable higher internet speeds of 2 or 10 Gbit/s, but the new generation also allows for increased capacity, meaning that multiple devices can transfer more data simultaneously. In addition, 5G also allows for surfing with lower latency. Websites respond faster and communication is generally free of delays.

However, the biggest innovation of the 5G mobile communications standard is probably the mechanism of “network slicing.” This involves dividing the network into several layers (slices), each of which has specific characteristics and can therefore meet different requirements. In this way, individual applications can be guaranteed flexible, demand-driven capacity in the network. This enables customer-specific solutions and improved customer experiences.

Accordingly, 5G has potential for new areas of application, especially in the IoT (Internet of Things) and M2M (communication between two devices) sectors. Devices can be networked smarter than ever and supplied with bandwidth as needed.