Radio waves are what connects devices to the network, but what is the difference between the 5G vs 4G radio frequencies?

Radio waves have been used for wireless communication for 120 years and we use them for radio and TV broadcasting, for communication in mobile networks and for WiFi.

Radio waves are, just as light, a kind of electromagnetic waves. Radio waves have much lower frequencies than light, which means that they travel around corners and even reach into buildings - perfect for mobile communication. A 5G network antenna uses a relatively small amount of power, from less than 1 W up to a few hundred watts depending on type , about the same as the ranges as of traditional lightbulbs.

Your phone uses far less power, about 0.2 W at most. With such low power output, it’s almost surprising that mobile communications even work. We can tell you that it took a lot of clever radio engineering to get there.