Europe Is Collaborating With South Korea To Bring Blazing-Fast 5G Internet To Your Phone

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5G mobile internet - which we should all be excited about - is coming to consumers even faster than expected, according to an agreement reached between Europe and South Korea to research and develop the technology in collaboration.

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"5G will become the new lifeblood of the digital economy and digital society once it is established," said European Commission VP Neelie Kroes. "This is the first time ever that public authorities have joined together in this way, with the support of private industry, to push forward the process of standardisation."

Kroes tweeted out news of the agreement and is seen below receiving what I can only assume to be the key to the internet. (That's a joke, although the internet is actually contorlled by 14 people who hold seven secret keys.)

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The push for 5G technology is driven by a desire for speed online. The European Commission has suggested that 5G will bring "fiber-like" speeds to our phones and give users the ability to download an HD movie in 6 seconds. Don't believe me? Check out this infographic released with the announcement.

If the Europe/South Korea pairing seems strange, consider that South Korea is home to Samsung, second only to Apple in the smartphone market. So while the EU represents a literal audience for 5G, South Korea is interested in marketing 5G via Samsung to consumers worldwide.

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More than anything, the agreement will streamline the standardization of 5G tech worldwide and allow companies to share research. The announcement outlined a memorandum of understanding to be signed between the major players in Europe's mobile market (like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Ericsson) and South Korea's 5G Forum.

This means consumers can expect 5G to develop faster that previously expected. The European Commission has pegged 5G to reach the market between 2020 and 2030, though this announcement suggests we'll all be comfortably streaming HD video through our smart glasses by 2024.