C Spire, a regional carrier operating in Mississippi, has begun offering what they’re marketing as a 5G fixed wireless service that can provide speeds of 120mbps. While they’re using the 5G term, though, C Spire’s service doesn’t utilize the true 3GPP 5G standards. C Spire is using an 802.11 variant and operating on sub-6 Ghz and 60 GHz spectrum to provide the service, and users need to install a “dinner plate” sized antenna to receive it.
“It’s a big deal for consumers and businesses in Mississippi,” said a C Spire spokesman. “We’re really serious about massive deployment of broadband in our footprint.” The spokesman also indicated that they will continue to study the 3GPP standards for 5G and may move in that direction as they continue research and development.
