Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Verizon gets serious about 5G, plans to launch in homes in 2018

A handful of U.S. cities should expect 5G services from Verizon in 2018

Adam Ismail
By
Verizon to deliver 5G service to pilot customers in 11 markets across U.S. by Mid 2017
At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, AT&T announced it would begin testing fixed residential 5G in Austin, Texas, during the first half of 2017. Not to be outdone, Verizon said in February it expects to launch “pre-commercial” 5G service for homes and offices in 11 cities over the next four months. And now, nine short months later, it looks like Verizon is charging ahead, announcing plans to roll out 5G wireless residential broadband services in three to five U.S. markets next year.

Said to be the first application of 5G wireless, the new services will employ radio signals in place of copper or fiber cables in order to bring fast internet speeds to customers. This speed, Verizon says, could soon provide the necessary bandwidth and low latency for 3D and virtual reality applications.

Recommended Videos

The carrier first laid out its goals for 5G deployment at last year’s Mobile World Congress, and subsequently announced trials in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Bernardsville, New Jersey; Brockton, Massachusetts; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Miami; Sacramento, California; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. These trials were modeled on the specifications determined by Verizon’s 5G Technical Forum.

The latter point is important to note, because a universal 5G standard does not exist yet. AT&T said it expected to reach download speeds of 400Mbps initially with its implementation, improving to 1Gbps by the end of 2017. The carrier reported that it achieved 14Gbps in a test in early 2016, the equivalent of downloading a 15GB file in nine seconds.

Verizon, on the other hand, did not state what speeds users could expect, and has said only that it “successfully trialed 5G residential applications.” Previously, the company noted it was closely working with its Technical Forum partners Qualcomm, Intel, Ericsson, and Samsung, as well as peers in the telecommunications industry in Canada, Japan, and South Korea, to work toward a global standard.

In any case, Verizon hopes to reach 30 million households across the U.S. with its new services. “This is a landmark announcement for customers and investors who have been waiting for the 5G future to become a reality,” Hans Vestberg, Verizon president of Global Networks and Chief Technology Officer, said in a statement. “We appreciate our strong ecosystem partners for their passion and technological support in helping us drive forward with 5G industry standards, for both fixed and mobile applications. The targeted initial launches we are announcing today will provide a strong framework for accelerating 5G’s future deployment on the global standards.”

Update: Verizon to launch 5G residential services in 2018. 

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Adam Ismail
Adam Ismail
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam’s obsession with tech began at a young age, with a Sega Dreamcast – and he’s been hooked ever since. Previously…
What is 5G? Speeds, coverage, comparisons, and more
The 5G UW icon on the Samsung Galaxy S23.

It's been years in the making, but 5G — the next big chapter in wireless technology — is finally approaching the mainstream. While we haven't yet reached the point where it's available everywhere, nearly all of the best smartphones are 5G-capable these days, and you're far more likely to see a 5G icon lit up on your phone than not.

There's more to 5G than just a fancy new number, though. The technology has been considerably more complicated for carriers to roll out since it covers a much wider range of frequencies than older 4G/LTE technology, with different trade-offs for each. It's also a much farther-reaching wireless technology, promising the kind of global connectivity that was once merely a dream found in futuristic sci-fi novels.

Read more
What is 5G UC? Here’s what that icon on your phone really means
5G logo on the Motorola Edge (2022).

If you own a 5G-capable smartphone — which are all of the best phones today — there’s a good chance you’ve seen different 5G network icons showing up in your status bar. It’s a stark contrast to the pre-5G days when your phone showed “4G” or “LTE” no matter where you went.

It can get a bit confusing to see a 5G indicator one moment and then “5G UC” or “5G UW” the next. It’s not something you need to worry too much about, as you don’t usually have much control over it, but it’s still helpful to understand what these different symbols mean — and why they matter.
The humble beginnings of 5G

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 ushers in the next era of 5G connectivity
Qualcomm Snapdragon X75.

Qualcomm has just announced the Snapdragon X75, the company's sixth-generation 5G modem that promises to push smartphones and other connected devices into the next phase of 5G technology.

The Snapdragon X75 is the successor to last year's X70, which is the modem found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that powers this year's most powerful 5G smartphones — including Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11. However, it's more than just an evolution of that earlier modem system, as Qualcomm has packed in support for next-generation 5G Advanced technology along with an entirely new architecture and powerful AI features that will allow mobile devices to access better coverage and achieve even faster speeds.
5G grows up big-time

Read more