Why The Race To Wireless 5G? The Internet Of Things

Apple (AAPL) and the iPhone ecosystem owe much of their torrid growth to the 3G and 4G wireless networks that whisked games, apps, photos and video to the computerlike smartphones.

Now the 5G, or fifth generation, wireless revolution is near, promising data speeds 50 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks. Sure it'll improve smartphones, but that's not the point. Analysts say 5G's biggest impact will be to drive the proliferation of the Internet of Things — billions of connected devices.

The business case for 5G is all about IoT, an evolution, or maybe revolution, that will take the internet era into new territories. Companies including chipmakers, network equipment makers and telecom service providers are investing heavily in the technology, with the first products to roll out in 2017.

"With 5G, there are going to be many more device categories," Matt Grob, Qualcomm chief technology officer, told IBD.