Roger Gurnani, Verizon’s chief information and technology architect, made a stunning admission to CNET in a recent interview: that his company would begin field tests for its 5G technology within the next year, and “some level of commercial deployment” will start in 2017.
What makes this so incredibly shocking is the fact that earlier reports had Verizon’s 5G technology pegged for launch in 2020. Getting it set up a few years earlier would put the company at the forefront of converting new users to its service, with the promise of significantly faster Internet and download speeds.
“The future is going to bring more stuff that I can’t really describe,” Gurnani said. “We can’t possibly envision the full range of disruptive products and services. But we have some possibilities.”
According to Verizon’s initial tests, the company’s 5G is 30 to 50 times faster than 4G. Should this prove consistent in the real world, it would mean it’s faster than Google’s much celebrated Fiber technology.
Putting it into a bit more perspective: should you wish to download a 2-hour movie to your mobile device, with 4G the process would take about six minutes, use 5G instead, and the download takes 15 seconds.
Beyond entertainment benefits, 5G is believed to be more responsive and power-efficient. It will also allow carriers to send more data across a fatter pipe (so millions of people can visit a site or stream footage of an event from a single URL without any lag in service).
News of this upgrade in wireless technology is obviously exciting, but it doesn’t mean consumers should begin researching 5G mobile devices that are able to take advantage of this better service. They’re still a few years away.
“At this time, our focus is on the technology field trials and accelerating the technology,” Gurnani pointed out. “For technical trials themselves, we have what we need. Beyond that, 5G will require big bands of spectrum.”
Via CNET
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