Verizon has confirmed plans to begin testing the first super speedy 5G network in the U.S. next year. Its new service will have 50 times the throughput of existing 4G LTE networks, and Verizon is working with a number of partners, including Samsung, to accelerate its development.
“By nearly all accounts, 5G technology should be introduced in the U.S. sometime after 2020, but Verizon is accelerating the expected rate of innovation,” the carrier announced today. “By working closely with key partners, Verizon aims to launch field technology trials next year.”
Verizon’s initial plan is to create 5G “sandboxes” at its Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Francisco Innovation Centers that will allow it to trial 5G networks before making them available to the public. The carrier conducted similar tests for 4G LTE in its early days of development.
In addition to Samsung, Verizon’s partners include Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, and Qualcomm. The carrier is also working with “a group of leading east- and west-coast venture capital groups focused on a variety of emerging technologies,” it says.
Not only is 5G significantly faster than 4G, but it also reduces latency to just milliseconds, and has the ability to handle more Internet-connected devices simultaneously to accommodate our reliance on multiple mobile devices and the Internet of Things.
