Kevin Fitchard, writing for GigaOM:
4G became a meaningless term, and we tech journalists reinforced its meaninglessness by swallowing the terminology carriers fed us. If carriers get their hooks into the acronym 5G, you can bet the exact same thing will happen. Once one carrier succumbs, others will race to redefine their perfectly serviceable 4G networks as 5G networks. An the next operator to gain the slightest technical edge will start bandying about the term 6G.
This is one of those situations where journalists need to take a stand. Don't let marketers misuse a term, because doing so perpetuates misleading advertising and ultimately results in consumer confusion.