5G is a big deal. Whoever controls 5G will essentially control the internet several years from now. So, the long-term investment potential is huge. To give you a better idea of the exciting new possibilities 5G brings, I’d like to share two examples with you today: the Internet of Things (IoT) and self-driving cars.

The Internet of Things has been slowly integrating itself into our lives for some time now. For example, the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Echo, or Nest thermostat, smart microwaves or even smart phones. All these are “things” that connect to the internet.

The caveat here is that the thing must be “smart.” So, don’t expect your shoelaces to tie themselves unless your shoe can connect to the internet. And there’s only so much the internet can connect and “talk” to without 5G.

Once 5G is incorporated, your smart device data will be gathered, analyzed and managed at a higher degree. This will allow for more Internet of Things products.

In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2020, there will be 25 billion smart devices. By 2021, the total market is estimated to be worth a whopping $520 billion, which is double from the $236 billion in 2017, according to Bain. So, clearly, there’s a lot of room for growth.

Some of that growth will come from “smart cities,” which could affect everything from lighting, parking, traffic and waste management, citizen engagement, safety and security. The picture below shows what a city would need to be “smart.”

All of these need 5G to work. Current networks aren’t quite fast and reliable enough to handle it — not when applications like healthcare and utilities are thrown into the mix.

Let’s look at one particular aspect: smart transportation.

Now, while there’s been a lot of growth in the self-driving car industry over the years, that growth has hit a wall. The goal is for self-driving cars to be fully autonomous, and there are five levels to get there. You can see just what they are in the picture below.

Unfortunately, self-driving cars have been stuck at level 3, which is partial automation. So, the driver must remain engaged. They can’t kick back and relax quite yet. This is largely because the current 4G network is not fast enough to support safer and smarter self-driving cars.

This is where 5G will come in. It will be able to connect almost everything with its ultra-fast, highly reliable and fully responsive network.

Keep in mind that self-driving cars rely on hundreds of sensors to work. And with sensors comes a significant amount of data. 4G isn’t fast enough to handle that data. Self-driving cars need data processing capabilities and speeds that give it “human-like reflexes” to prevent accidents.

Now, these are just two of the ways 5G will have an impact on technology — and there’s a lot of money to be made in both. As I mentioned, the total market for the Internet of Things is estimated to be worth about half a trillion dollars in two years!

As for self-driving cars, the industry will be worth $54 billion worldwide and reach a whopping $557 billion by 2026. So in just these two markets alone, we’re looking at about a trillion dollars’ worth of potential. That’s huge!

There are a lot of companies out there that are jumping on the 5G bandwagon, and there is clearly a lot of investing potential here, but it’s all about finding the right company that offers significant long-term potential.

I have found just that name. In my Growth Investor service, I recommended a not-so-well-known electronics company that is helping some of the big ones move into the 5G space.

To learn more, I strongly suggest you go here to watch my presentation on the huge technological shift going on now.

Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of four investing newsletters: Growth Investor, Breakthrough Stocks, Accelerated Profits and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Growth Investor, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.