Will 5G Be Available in the United States After 2020?
Don’t expect fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology to be available in the United States any time soon, according to Sprint (S) Senior Research Scientist Scott Migaldi.
Light Reading reported that Migaldi recently told members of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a group that includes seven telecommunications standard development organizations, that he believes 5G won’t be available in the United States until after 2020.
Migaldi also noted that he expects the first 5G commercial launches to take place in “early to mid-2020.”
Several telecommunications providers have already invested in 5G technology development in the hopes of providing faster wireless services in the near future.
Verizon (VZ), for example, last month announced a partnership with Intel (INTC) to accelerate the development of 5G technology.
Intel joined the Verizon 5G Technology Forum, which includes a group of telecommunications providers that are committed to beginning 5G technology field trials next year.
In addition, Verizon has committed to beginning 5G technology field trials in the United States next year and 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.”
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