5G may be the tech that will bring virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to the masses.

5G mobile technology will change the entire virtual reality ecosystem according to two Chinese tech giants ZTE and Huawei Technologies. Both of these companies, which are based out of Shenzhen, are among the world’s top proponents of 5G. This next generation mobile communications technology is expected to deliver transmission speeds 100 times faster than current 4G networks. This makes it far more ideal for VR and AR, which currently lacks the technology needed to run optimally.

5G will deliver connection speeds of 1 to 10-gigabit per second and less than a millisecond of latency.

In other words, it will take less than a millisecond of time for data to get from one point to another. Presently, streaming 3D content is slow and latency is poor.

According to Roland Sladek, Huawei vice president of international media affairs, “The virtual-reality ecosystem is not mature enough now, in terms of content and bandwidth,” Sladek added that “If you want to stream 3D content, it’s very slow. Latency is not great. That will drastically change with 5G.”

Both ZTE and Huawei Technologies forecast that when 5G mobile infrastructure is widely deployed from 2020 there will be a boom in the global AR and VR markets.

The GSMA says that 5G Mobile Technology will lead to a “hyper-connected society.”

The GSM Association represents almost 800 wireless network operators and approximately 300 companies in the wider ranging mobile network, including ZTE and Huawei. The association believes that 5G will make mobile even more important than it already is to consumers and industries like virtual and augmented reality.

The association and the two Chinese network equipment and handset suppliers are not the only ones who are predicting that VR and AR will take off in the future. Earlier this year analysts from Goldman Sachs predicted that the global VR and AR market will reach $80 billion by 2025. An estimated $45 billion in sales will be generated from hardware and $35 billion from software.

Proponents of 5G mobile technology believe that the new tech will deliver a more seamless virtual and augmented reality experience that simply cannot be provided today.

According to a new survey from Square, customers who pay using NFC tech are more likely to tip.

NFC mobile payments are fast and are virtually instantaneous. This may be one of the reasons why consumer who use this type of payment tend to tip more compared to those who pay using traditional methods like magstripe cards. According to a study conducted in Portland by California-based mobile payment firm Square, 73% of customers who used near field communications (NFC) payments at point of sale (POS) left tips compared to only 67% of customers who used magnetic stripe cards.

Square spent six weeks in Portland educating local businesses about contactless payments.

For more than two months, Square remained in Portland for its #PayFasterPortland campaign. During the campaign, an increasing number of Portlanders began using their mobile devices to pay at local businesses that upgraded to Square’s new contactless and chip reader device.

Thousands of Portland sellers implemented Square’s new chip card and NFC mobile payments reader.

Square’s chip card and NFC reader is a small pocket-sized device with a powerful battery. It wirelessly connects to Android or iOS mobile devices and is made for NFC and chip, accepting EVM chip cards and Apple Pay as well as other contactless payments. The mini device is also designed to work with the free POS Square app

According to the official Square blog, Portland now has the highest “tap-to-pay” rates in the United States.

“Even before #PayFasterPortland, the city was number one in the country for orders for our new contactless and chip reader. And now the rate of people in Portland paying on Square’s new reader with mobile wallets like Apple Pay is higher than the national average,” the blog noted.

Square began rolling out its first contactless readers in November of last year. In March 2016, the company’s CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that the reader received over 350,000 pre-orders.

Due to the ease and speed of NFC mobile payments and with more businesses implementing the necessary devices that enable them to offer this payment option, this tech is likely to grow among both businesses and consumers across the country. It will be interesting to see if the high tipping percentage continues among NFC users.