Why 5G might be needed, when 4G handles most present use cases, is a fair question. Leaving aside for the moment new applications or use cases or even ever-increasing end user bandwidth demand, next-generation mobile networks always are needed because the networks themselves are built with specifications that eventually become limitations.
3G networks were designed to use channels 5 MHz wide, maximum. 4G was designed to use channels 20-MHz wide, maximum. 5G now uses 100-MHz channels, with a path to channels 2-GHz wide.
Also, every generation of mobile networks are designed to run on specific frequencies. To add more spectrum necessarily means creating a new platform able to operate at the new frequencies.
The network specifications therefore matter because all devices are designed with assumptions about network capabilities in mind. Though each new network adds capacity and better latency performance, performance eventually becomes an issue, as is the case for generations of personal computers or servers.
In recent tests conducted by Signals Research Group, a 4K video delivered over a 4G network using channel bonding (two channels). The video buffered and froze about 79 percent of the time, while there were no impairments using 5G.
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