Fifth-generation networks offer higher data speeds and cut delays — to give almost instantaneous response, promising new opportunities and applications for business and consumers. So why has 5G been slow to make an impression on everyday life, and what can we expect next?

• Holographic David Attenborough points the way for 5G connectivity

  A Green Planet ‘experience’ aims to demonstrate the technology’s unfulfilled promise

  
• Industry turns to private 5G to speed digital change

  Some companies are creating their own networks to power the ‘Internet of Things’

  
• Beyond 5G: what would 6G look like — and do we need it?

  The ‘Internet of the Senses’ and a ‘cyber-physical continuum’ are on engineers’ horizon

  
• ‘Open RAN’ telecoms trials aim to reshape mobile market

  Standard could open up competition in network technology and improve rural coverage

  
• The search for 5G’s ‘killer apps’

  What might the fifth-generation network eventually offer that its predecessors could not?

  
• China, US and Europe vie to set 5G standards

  Security concerns and future competitive advantage are shaping the landscape