I’m seeing them pop up more and more…
Maybe you are, too.
Bold headlines telling you to “forget 5G”…
And get ready for—you guessed it—6G!
Some of you have already written in asking about 6G…
Do you have anything going on with the new 6G technology?...
I am starting to hear about this but I do not believe I’ve heard anything from RiskHedge yet…
Today, I’m bringing in our early-stage tech expert Chris Wood to get to the bottom of this…
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CR: Hi, Chris. So… 6G.
Is it the next big thing?
Chris Wood: I’m so glad you brought this up. And I want to be very clear:
At this point, there is no such thing as “6G.” It simply doesn’t exist. I suspect some marketer made up the term 6G to attract attention.
It’s working, I suppose. I’m seeing more and more ads for “6G.” Yesterday, I got an email titled: “How to Make a Fortune on 6G.” These guys are shameless...
CR: So there’s no substance here? This is totally made up?
CW: Zero substance.
See, what they’re calling “6G” is just the deployment of actual 5G. We won’t see anything that remotely resembles 6G for 10 years at a bare minimum.
China says it plans to roll out 6G networks in 2030. Samsung, in their recent “white paper,” said they also expect mass commercialization to happen around 2030.
It doesn’t matter. It’s all just “noise”… a big distraction from the real opportunity available in 5G right now.
CR: We’ve been hearing about 5G for years now, though… Isn’t it on its last legs?
Chris Wood: Not at all. Although it’s been hyped up for years, 5G isn’t even in its “first inning” yet.
We’re just a couple of warm-up pitches into what I call “The Great Upgrade.”
You have to remember that this isn’t your run-of-the-mill upgrade. It’s nothing like the jump we saw from 3G to 4G.
All the exciting innovations you hear so much about today: self-driving cars… remote robotic surgery… the Internet of Things… can’t happen without 5G.
Not just that… we’re talking about entirely new mobile networks, up to 100X faster than what we have today.
We’re going to need countless new antennas, fiber optic cables, satellites, and other network gear necessary to extend 5G signals beyond city centers… and the tiny filters that go in the phones themselves.
It’s going to take decades for a full 5G buildout.
CR: Decades?
Chris Wood: Decades. 5G is a MASSIVE undertaking. We essentially have to rewire the world.
People don’t realize 4G is still growing—and that started more than 10 years ago!
The upgrade to 5G is one of the biggest events of our lifetimes. But right now, it’s still very early. In fact, just a couple weeks ago we got evidence that this boom truly is just beginning…
CR: Go on…
Chris Wood: As you probably heard, Apple just announced its first 5G iPhones.
This is a huge moment for the entire mobile space.
That’s because once Apple enters the game, it’s a sign that things are about to speed up in a big way.
When Apple introduced the first iPhone, for example, smartphones had been around for years. But they didn’t explode in popularity until Apple entered the market.
That’s likely to happen now with 5G smartphones.
As one mobile industry insider said on a call I attended earlier this month: “Apple has always been late to any new generation. But once they come in it really shows that this is now real.”
See, the truth is only a small percentage of people actually own fully functional 5G phones…
CR: It’s funny... I initially thought my iPhone was getting 5G last year. I saw the little “5GE” icon in the upper corner. Turns out, 5GE isn’t really 5G.
Chris Wood: Exactly. 4G phones can’t magically turn into 5G phones. We’ll all have to throw out our old phones and get new ones to experience 5G.
I’m sure you weren’t the only one who assumed you were on 5G. Millions of people saw that icon. And millions are still confused today. Like “6G,” “5GE”—short for 5G Evolution--is just misleading branding baloney by AT&T. It’s simply their slightly expanded 4G network disguised as 5G.
There was a big lawsuit about it… The whole thing was a mess…
But let’s focus on what matters.
The number of working 5G phones is set to explode, starting now. Just look at how much the number of worldwide 5G connections is set to jump in 2021.
From there, it’s off to the races…
CR: That helps put things in perspective. But how about the elephant in the room…
Has COVID slowed down 5G’s progress?
Chris Wood: It hasn’t. It’s actually speeding things up. As I explained to my Project 5X subscribers earlier this year, the coronavirus has sent The Great Upgrade into hyperdrive.
With the world on lockdown, wireless operators are spending big bucks upgrading their networks to try to keep up with the surging traffic.
Truth is, they don’t have a choice. With more people online than ever right now, our wireless networks are being pushed to the brink. Keep in mind, data usage across these networks was already doubling every year and a half before all this extra traffic. Now, they’ve reached their limits.
In short, the world needs 5G more than ever before.
CR: How does tomorrow’s election play into all of this? Is Biden or Trump better for 5G?
Chris Wood: Good question. And it’s a simple answer: It doesn’t matter who wins. Trump knows we need 5G. Biden knows we need 5G. There’s no stopping this. 5G is a MASSIVE, world-changing trend. The White House doesn’t have any effect on it whatsoever.
CR: Last question: What sort of companies should readers look into to profit from this boom?
Chris Wood: Readers would do just fine owning the Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF (FIVG). It owns a basket of 5G companies.
But for the explosive, 500%+ gains… the type of gains I’m after in Project 5X, you want to own the tiny disruptors taking 5G to the “next level.”
Remember what I said earlier: We still have a lot to do in The Great Upgrade. And lots of crucial components must be built. I’m talking antennas… satellites… the tiny filters that go in the phones themselves. It’s causing quite a boom for the early-stage companies that’ve pounced on the opportunity to make these things. That’s where I’m most focused today.
***
Do you agree that this 5G boom has barely begun… or do you think it’s drawing to a close? Do you own any 5G-related stocks today? Let me know at chrisreilly@riskhedge.com.
Chris Reilly
Executive Editor, RiskHedge