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5G is the fifth generation technology for mobile communication. Companies started to make use of 5G in 2019. The plan is for it to take over 4G, which, as you guessed, is fourth generation technology for mobile communication. Find out about the companies making movements in 5G and how you can invest in them.
What’s the difference between 5G and 4G?
5G is thought to be 100 times faster than 4G, offering up to 10 gigabytes (GB) per second. It will make streaming The Politician on Netflix faster (if you didn’t already binge both seasons in less than a week), allow you to upload photos of your cat to Instagram quicker than you already can, plus, it has some other pretty cool opportunities.
It’s believed that 5G will bring about a wave of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation. One of the main benefits of 5G is the opportunity for better latency, which is the speed that it takes between sending an instruction and it happening. So, children being asked to load the dishwasher have a relatively high latency, but when you tell them to come get dessert, suddenly it’s lower.
The latency has been reduced to less than one millisecond for 5G, compared with 50 milliseconds for 4G. This improvement can be used to create driverless cars, where 50 milliseconds is a huge amount of time when responding to incidents on the road.
5G stocks
As you’d expect, the top 5G stocks are mainly mobile companies. The UK’s four largest mobile network providers are some clear stocks to watch, especially given that they are the ones with the responsibility to roll it out.
These companies are:
- BT Group. BT will also be responsible for providing faster broadband, as it owns Openreach.
- Vodafone.
- O2. Owned by Telefonica.
- Three. Owned by CK Hutchinson.
Other companies to consider
As well as those actually rolling it out, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the companies that allow people to make use of the 5G technology. The main one being smartphone providers. You won’t necessarily get access to 5G with your current smartphone, you’ll need a 5G enabled device. Who better to turn to than the mobile phone providers for upgrades?
The top 5G stocks to watch are:
- BT Group
- Vodafone
- O2
- Three
- Apple
- Xiaomi
- Qualcomm
- Taiwan Semiconductor
- Qorvo and Skyworks Solutions
- Intel
- T-Mobile
- Deutsche Telekom
- Ericsson
- Nokia
5G ETFs
Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF – FIVG
Key holdings:
| Company name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| Qualcomm Inc | QCOM |
| NXP Semiconductors | NXPI |
| Ericsson | ERIC |
| Analog Devices Inc | ADI |
| Xilinx Inc | XLNX |
| Verizon Communications Inc | VZ |
| Skyworks Solutions Inc | SWKS |
| Marvell Technology Group Ltd Ord | MRVL |
| Keysight Technologies Inc | KEYS |
| Maxim Integrated Prods Inc | MXIM |
First Trust Index NextG ETF – NASDAQ:NXTG
Key holdings:
| Company name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| QNXP Semiconductors | NXPI |
| ASE Technology Holding Co Ltd | N/A |
| Nokia Corporation | NOK |
| Xiaomi Corp | N/A |
| CyrusOne Inc | CONE |
| Skyworks Solutions Inc | SWKS |
| NEC Corporation | NIPNF |
| Equinix Inc | EQIX |
| Arista Networks Inc | ANET |
| Fujitsu Ltd | FJTSF |
VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF – NYSEARCA:SMH
Key holdings:
| Company name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd | TSM.TW |
| Intel Corporation | INTC |
| NVIDIA Corporation | NVDA |
| ASML Holding | ASML |
| Broadcom Inc | AVGO |
| Qualcomm Inc | QCOM |
| Texas Instruments Inc | TXN |
| Lam Research Corporation | LRCX |
| Applied Materials Inc | AMAT |
| Analog Devices Inc | ADI |
Global X Internet of Things ETF – NASDAQ:SNSR
Key holdings:
| Company name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| STMicroelectronics NV | STM FP |
| Skyworks Solutions Inc | SWKS |
| Advantech Co Ltd | 2395 TT |
| Garmin Ltd | GRMN |
| Sensata Technologies | ST |
| Dexcom Inc | DXCM |
| ams AG | AMS SW |
| ADT Inc | ADT |
| Silicon Laboratories Inc | SLAB |
| Xiaomi Corp-class B | 1810 HK |
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