Verizon will begin testing 5G among select customers in Sacramento and 10 other cities during the first half of 2017, Sacramento CIO Maria MacGunigal announced Friday on LinkedIn.
5G — the abbreviation for fifth-generation mobile network — is the proposed next telecom standard beyond the current 4G standard. 5G will support more devices per area (higher density) and faster download speeds (100 Mbps) — perhaps 40 times faster than what's available on mobile devices today.
The International Telecommunication Union hopes to roll out 5G in full by 2020 as applications for the Internet of Things, connected cars and smart infrastructure continue to emerge. Verizon's test will will occur in partnership with Samsung and Ericsson.
Besides Sacramento, pilots also will occur in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Atlanta; Bernardsville, N.J.; Brockton, Mass.; Dallas; Denver; Houston; Miami; Seattle; and Washington, D.C.
"This pilot program is one of the first practical implementations of 5G in the nation. It is this type of innovation that will enable residents to experience gigabit speeds that were previously only available via costly fiber," MacGunigal wrote.
Verizon said its business partners are developing commercially available chipsets, infrastructure products and consumer devices based on the proposed specifications for 5G.
"5G technology innovation is rapidly evolving," said Adam Koeppe, vice president of network planning at Verizon. "Network density is increasing to meet the demands of customers, and following the FCC's aggressive action on 5G spectrum, the time is right to deliver the next generation of broadband services with 5G."
Read MacGunigal's full post here.
