Verizon to Take First Real Crack at 5G

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Verizon to Take First Real Crack at 5G

Verizon, America’s biggest wireless provider, is gearing up for a boost in its wireless network. Field trials on 5G, or 5th-generation technology, are set for the upcoming year.

The result could be insanely fast wireless—sooner rather than later—for millions of customers. The industry consensus is that 5G technology will be available to consumers by 2020. However, Verizon expects that it will have some version of 5G ready for the market in just two.

There were rumors that Verizon was gearing up for the next phase in wireless communication. Confirmation came from the company’s top brass last week. The upcoming trials would put Verizon in a category all its own, becoming the first carrier to make the move. Other companies would hate to be left in the dust, so really, Verizon is forcing advancement with this announcement.

The jump to 4G a few years ago resulted in a massive technology explosion, and it’s likely that a move to 5G will do the same, ushering in new smartphones and other gadgets. It’s weird to think, but the phones we have today may be as defunct and ancient to users in 2020 as flip phones are to us today.

Verizon’s Roger Gurnani, who confirmed the 5G testing plans, said that the future of wireless communication is going to be filled with indescribable gadgets.

So what exactly is the difference between 4G and 5G? In a word” Speed. A lot more speed. Testing shows that 5G works at speeds up to 50 times quicker than the current network built on 4G. What Verizon will be filed testing is a wireless communication system that is even faster than Google Fiber—which is a hardwired connection.

Here’s an example: If you wanted to download a feature-length film to your device using today’s 4G network, it would take around six minutes. With 5G, it would only take 15 seconds.

5G service will also be more energy-efficient, which means you will have to worry about charging your device less often than you do currently.

Source: CNET