In their predictions for new technologies and emerging applications each year, industry leaders are always forward-looking and focused on potential benefits. Using faster and more powerful devices that quickly outperform earlier versions, we’ve seen the delivery of a new technology every two years for the past 20 years.

While there have been some arguments about the validity of the 5G network, most people are quickly coming to terms with the new reality.

So far, 5G has been predicted to be the next big thing, and it's already getting the hype treatment from tech giants such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless. This next generation of mobile internet speeds promises to be even faster than before.The 20-year history of tech-driven change creates one of the most notable distinctions for 2022.

The first major carrier to discontinue its 3G network was AT&T. As AT&T announces, the change not only marks the end of an example of the most prevalent technologies of the past two decades but also presents an unexpected challenge for the modern-day American business and consumer.

5 G's explosive expansion is responsible for this paradigm shift. Hungry for spectrum bandwidth and network resources, 5G necessitates carriers to take over bandwidth currently held by 3G to implement a 5G network fully.

The transition can take anywhere from 18 months to three years, as service providers replace old equipment with new gear and buy back unused space from television broadcasters before installing antennas.

Without reallocating these necessary resources, it would be impossible for carriers to provide robust coverage across densely populated cities or even individual neighborhoods without building out an expensive fiber-optic infrastructure everywhere possible.

In the midst of all the buzz surrounding 5G technologies and the discussions of key technology implementations that will be possible, it should not be forgotten that 3G had an equally revolutionary impact on the technology in the early 2000s. There are lessons to be learned from the past and applied to the current 5G scenario.