2G, 3G, 4G, 5G….
This one’s a little less weird. Some people think the “G” stands for gigahertz, but it’s actually Generation, which is why you never heard about 1G. It didn’t really need special nomenclature until we started making sequels.
These generations are referring, once again, to the standards used by wireless cellular technology. We keep making more wireless devices that use more data and require faster data transfers, but there’s a hard ceiling in terms of what our systems can handle. When 5G rolled out, the telecom industry made a big deal about how it was going to revolutionize the world and make way for “smart cities” where everything was connected. Unfortunately for anyone who bought the hype, that doesn’t look like it’s happening anytime soon.
The introduction of 5G was a flashpoint for conspiracy theories which were all pretty ridiculous from the start (unless you count private companies making money on government-funded infrastructure as a conspiracy). If that’s the new normal, get used to it, because this is a never ending process. People had already started working on 6g before 5G was even finished.
