The problem is that 5G needs fiber connectivity and electricity for the towers, and this is not easily achievable in rural areas. You certainly can use microwa

The problem is that 5G needs fiber connectivity and electricity for the towers, and this is not easily achievable in rural areas. You certainly can use microwave backhaul links between towers, but the existing solutions don't provide nearly enough capacity to justify the 5G upgrade. To oversimplify, 4G works in the 1 Gbit world. 5G needs 10-25 Gb.