Verizon says 5G coming to 30 US cities by end of 2019

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2019
Verizon on Thursday said it's working on deploying 5G to some extent in 30 U.S. cities by the end of 2019, another hint that the technology won't appear in iPhones until 2020.

Image Credit: DxOMark
Image Credit: DxOMark


"It's just gonna be a total different experience in speed and throughput than you have ever seen before," CEO Hans Vestberg said during an investor meeting, quoted by The Verge. The carrier is planning to deploy millimeter wave radios, and promising to deliver true standards-based 5G instead of the type it branded for home service, or AT&T's "5G E," really a form of 4G that has triggered a lawsuit from Sprint.

Verizon didn't identify cities by name, nor did it specify any kind of coverage metric in regards to what constitutes a deployment. While it's likely to target major urban areas whenever possible, that could be limited by deployment complexity.

The first parts of Verizon's 5G network should be up by mid-2019 though, since the carrier is the exclusive launch partner for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

AT&T and T-Mobile are also working on 5G deployments. Neither carrier is expected to get very far by the end of 2019 however, owing to partly to lags in equipment. There are also relatively few 5G-ready devices on the market, offering little incentive to speed up.

Multiple reports have pointed to Apple waiting until 2020 to ship 5G-capable iPhones. The company's preferred modem maker, Intel, is unlikely to have a 5G chip ready until that timeframe.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    cmd-zcmd-z Posts: 69member
    And this will be *real* 5G (looking at you, AT&T)
    DanManTX
  • Reply 2 of 14
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Is Verizon so called 5G is standard based roll out or some form of it's own 5G like AT&T 5G E ? When Verizon say 30 cities means all areas of those cities or just downtown ? Once upon my carrier announced my city is covered with 4G LTE and it took more than year to see LTE signal on my phone where I live and I live in inner part of city.
    edited February 2019 llama
  • Reply 3 of 14
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Are you actually kidding me? LTE is fine for smartphones. Even on 3G most iPhone & Android applications run fine. 5G is good for Home Internet & Critical Infrastructure like autonomous vehicles.What can a 5G phone do that a 4G LTE iPhone cannot?
    georgie01lkrupplibertyandfree
  • Reply 4 of 14
    McKinley H. TaborMcKinley H. Tabor Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    Um... Better stock photo's guys.... With a headline like "30 US Cities", don't use a stock photo from Paris France...  :p

    edited February 2019 wonkothesanellama
  • Reply 5 of 14
    georgie01georgie01 Posts: 436member
    racerhomie3 said:
    Are you actually kidding me? LTE is fine for smartphones. Even on 3G most iPhone & Android applications run fine. 5G is good for Home Internet & Critical Infrastructure like autonomous vehicles.What can a 5G phone do that a 4G LTE iPhone cannot?
    Exactly.
    racerhomie3JFC_PAlibertyandfree
  • Reply 6 of 14
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    racerhomie3 said:
    Are you actually kidding me? LTE is fine for smartphones. Even on 3G most iPhone & Android applications run fine. 5G is good for Home Internet & Critical Infrastructure like autonomous vehicles.What can a 5G phone do that a 4G LTE iPhone cannot?
    It’s a nerd thing. Even if you can download a 2hr movie in 5 minutes it still takes two hours to watch the movie. By the time 5G actually becomes useable Apple will have hardware that uses it. Until then it’s just nerd hype.
    JFC_PAredgeminipa
  • Reply 7 of 14
    felix01felix01 Posts: 294member
    racerhomie3 said:
    Even on 3G most iPhone & Android applications run fine. 
    You must have a high threshold for slow internet speed on your mobile devices. Or plenty of free time on your hands.

    I see a huge difference between 3G and LTE and don't even bother to surf on a mobile device if in an area where I can't connect via LTE. 
    redgeminipa
  • Reply 8 of 14
    JFC_PAJFC_PA Posts: 932member
    Until service is built out to cover the current mobile gaps I’d prefer filling in those gaps than upping the speed in the usual suspect urban areas. I mean good for them, but not going to impact any iPhone buying decision I make for a while. 
    redgeminipa
  • Reply 9 of 14
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    lkrupp said:
    racerhomie3 said:
    Are you actually kidding me? LTE is fine for smartphones. Even on 3G most iPhone & Android applications run fine. 5G is good for Home Internet & Critical Infrastructure like autonomous vehicles.What can a 5G phone do that a 4G LTE iPhone cannot?
    It’s a nerd thing. Even if you can download a 2hr movie in 5 minutes it still takes two hours to watch the movie. By the time 5G actually becomes useable Apple will have hardware that uses it. Until then it’s just nerd hype.
    I agree. It's going to take a long time for any 5G roll out. I just wonder how much coverage will there actually be in these 30 cities? The 5G spectrum can't travel as far as 4G/3G. That means Verizon will have to place so many new cells all over the place for coverage. 
  • Reply 10 of 14
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,291member
    Lemme translate this for you: "we have to keep the hype going about 5G because everyone on the planet is going to need a new $900+ phone to take advantage of it, and the data plans are likely going to be exorbitant. So what we mean with this announcement is that there will be a single testing hotspot in our office in those cities that's not accessible to the public for testing purposes by the end of 2019 for sure definitely, unless it rains or the economy goes south or any one of a hundred possible reasons for delay. IOW, not having 5G on your smartphone before mid-2020 (at the earliest, and even then only in the biggest cities) will be perfectly fine."
  • Reply 11 of 14
    All-Purpose GuruAll-Purpose Guru Posts: 124member
    McKinley H. Tabor said:
    Um... Better stock photos, guys.... With a headline like "30 US Cities", don't use a stock photo from Paris France...  :p

    Or one using an iPhone, which won't support 5G until at LEAST 2020.
    llama
  • Reply 12 of 14
    smiffy31smiffy31 Posts: 202member
    The Eiffel Tower is one of th most important transmission towers in Paris. It will be one of the first places covered by 5g in Paris. 
    llama
  • Reply 13 of 14
    ElCapitanElCapitan Posts: 372member
    smiffy31 said:
    The Eiffel Tower is one of th most important transmission towers in Paris. It will be one of the first places covered by 5g in Paris. 
    Is that what you call a landmark G-spot?
    avon b7llama
  • Reply 14 of 14
    redgeminiparedgeminipa Posts: 555member
    chasm said:
    Lemme translate this for you: "we have to keep the hype going about 5G because everyone on the planet is going to need a new $900+ phone to take advantage of it, and the data plans are likely going to be exorbitant. So what we mean with this announcement is that there will be a single testing hotspot in our office in those cities that's not accessible to the public for testing purposes by the end of 2019 for sure definitely, unless it rains or the economy goes south or any one of a hundred possible reasons for delay. IOW, not having 5G on your smartphone before mid-2020 (at the earliest, and even then only in the biggest cities) will be perfectly fine."
    I have doubts about a price increase for 5G. If Verizon tries it, I'll negotiate a better price, or threaten to leave for T-Mobile. Verizon is offering home 5G in select markets (until national rollout), and you get unlimited data with no throttling at up to 300 Mbps for $50 if you're a current Verizon customer, or $75 if you're not. I'm impatiently waiting for this, so I can kick my cable company to the curb. I'm paying over $60 per month for 50 Mbps service, and that's internet-only, and I own my modem. 
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