Verizon – the first company to introduce 4G LTE, or fourth-generation long-term evolution, wireless network technology about six years ago. But, now, Verizon announced that it will start testing its fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless technology in 2016. It sets roadmap to 5G technology in U.S.
“5G technology should be introduced in the U.S. sometime after 2020,” Verizon said. By working closely with key partners, Verizon aims to launch field technology trials next year.
Verizon, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung kicked-off the inaugural Verizon 5G Technology Forum last month, and have established working teams to ensure an aggressive pace of innovation.
5G network environments, or “sandboxes,” are being created in Verizon’s Waltham, Mass., and San Francisco Innovation Centers. Just like in the early days of the development of 4G LTE technology, collaborating in a shared environment will foster compelling applications faster.
Verizon and its partners are committed to beginning technology field trials in 2016.
“5G is no longer a dream of the distant future. We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to push forward on 5G and mobilize the ecosystem by collaborating with industry leaders and developers to usher in a new generation of innovation.”
The expected benefits of 5G, as described during Verizon’s inaugural forum, include about 50 times the throughput of current 4G LTE, latency in the single milliseconds, and the ability to handle exponentially more Internet-connected devices to accommodate the expected explosion of the Internet of Everything.
The Verizon-led effort keeps the communications industry in the U.S. vibrant and globally competitive. “A lot of development and requirements for 5G networks have so far come from Asian operators. It’s exciting to see a U.S. company accelerate the rate of innovation and introduce new partners.”
In addition to working with communications and technology leaders, Verizon’s 5G Technology Forum also includes a group of leading east- and west-coast venture capital groups focused on a variety of emerging technologies.
“Each partner is a leader, but together we represent more than $50 billion in annual research, development and technology investments and thousands of patents. Collectively we are bringing to bear an incredible amount of resources and intellectual capital to introduce the next generation of wireless technology.”
From the beginning, the possibilities of 4G LTE were as great as the imaginations of the developers, engineers and entrepreneurs who began immediately putting their ideas into action. The Verizon Innovation program was created, and Innovations Centers were opened in Waltham and San Francisco, with the mission of encouraging the growth and development of the 4G LTE ecosystem. Innovators from around the world worked with Verizon wireless experts to test their ideas and quickly get them to market.
And the market grew quickly. Verizon began building and testing 4G LTE as early as 2008 with the creation of a 10-cell network sandbox around Boston. The first LTE data call was made in August 2009, and Verizon commercially launched the nation’s first, and the world’s largest, 4G LTE network in December 2010 with 39 major metropolitan areas and more than 60 major airports covered.
Now, more than 98 percent of the U.S. population has access to 4G LTE and 87 percent of Verizon Wireless data traffic is carried over the network.
Verizon ranked the highest of all U.S. wireless providers, according to the J.D. Power 2015 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study, Volume 2. Verizon’s network performance was higher than the industry average in all three quality categories: calling, messaging and data.
“Even as Verizon begins the work to make 5G a reality, we continue to grow 4G LTE. In addition to significant multi-billion-dollar investments in the network, we continue to work with a growing list of partners to launch new products and services on the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.”