Verizon: Expect 5G Technology Tests Next Year
Verizon (VZ) is accelerating its push to deploy fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology in the United States.
The broadband and telecommunications giant has committed to beginning 5G technology field trials in the United States next year. In addition, Verizon is developing 5G network environments, or “sandboxes,” in its Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Francisco Innovation Centers.
“5G is no longer a dream of the distant future,” Verizon Executive Vice President Roger Gurnani said in a prepared statement. “We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to push forward on 5G and mobilize the ecosystem by collaborating with industry leaders and developers to usher in a new generation of innovation.”
So what could 5G mean for Verizon customers? Verizon said it expects the wireless technology to deliver:
- 50 times the throughput of current 4G LTE.
- Latency in the single milliseconds.
- The ability to handle more Internet-connected devices to accommodate the expected explosion of the Internet of Everything.
Currently, more than 98 percent of the U.S. population has access to 4G LTE and 87 percent of Verizon Wireless data traffic is carried over the network, according to Verizon.
Gurani added that his company will continue to expand its 4G LTE.
“Even as Verizon begins the work to make 5G a reality, we continue to grow 4G LTE,” Gurnani added. “In addition to significant multi-billion-dollar investments in the network, we continue to work with a growing list of partners to launch new products and services on the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.”
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