/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10287853/Frankfurt_Browse.png)
Qualcomm’s simulated 5G testing is starting to show some very high throughput numbers when moving from 4G to 5G technology. In real world testing in Frankfurt and San Francisco, download speeds of 100Mbps were standard on 5G vs just 8Mbps on 4G. These are far cries from the gigabit theoretical speeds that 5G has to offer, but still a massive improvement. Browsing speed jumped from 56Mbps to almost 500Mbps, but the question is do mobile users really need all that performance anyhow?
With 5G on the horizon, there are implications for every major industry. Low latency, high bandwidth communications offered by 5G are going to impact businesses first before consumers, and massive spending is expected by 2025.
5G cellular networks may not be accessible to the masses just yet, but manufacturers are prepping for them so that consumers will have equipment that can take advantage of the new technology as soon as 5G lights up. Intel has announced that their XMM 8000 series 5G modems will be included in laptops and netbooks from Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft by the second half of 2019.
Once carriers like AT&T and Verizon have deployed their 5G networks, users of products like netbooks that have 5G-capable modems like the XMM 8000 series will be able to take advantage of the superior speeds and latency that 5G will deliver. Intel plans to demo one of these devices at Mobile World Congress next week to show off the capabilities and hopefully encourage early adoption. It also seems likely that Intel may partner with phone manufacturers as well, pushing for their 5G modems to be used in future smartphones.
2019 is sure to be a race between both component manufacturers like Intel and hardware manufacturers to get 5G-capable devices in consumer’s hands. It will be exciting to see how the competition spurs development!
AT&T has announced its first 3 cities where its new 5G network will be deployed. Atlanta, Dallas, and Waco.
From AT&T:
2018 will be the year you can experience mobile 5G from AT&T*.
We plan to offer mobile 5G to customers in a dozen cities, including parts of Dallas, Atlanta and Waco, Texas, by the end of this year. We’ll announce additional cities in the coming months.
This is standards-based, mobile 5G we’re talking about. AT&T is the only U.S. carrier that’s announced plans to deliver this ground-breaking technology to its customers in 2018.
4K video streaming 5G test used 28 GHz spectrumEarlier this month, inside a Nokia facility in Murray Hill, N.J., the network infrastructure vendor worked with Verizon and Qualcomm to complete what is being billed as the first over-the-air call based on 3GPP’s non-standalone 5G New Radio specification and using licensed millimeter wave spectrum.
Verizon, based on its acquisition of licenses previously held by XO Communications, has licensed millimeter wave spectrum holdings in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands. This test used 28 GHz spectrum, according to Verizon spokesman John O’Malley, and transmitted a 4K video stream. “With the bandwidth 5G provides on millimeter wave spectrum, we felt 4K video was the best application to showcase the technology versus an over-the-top voice call,” O’Malley said in a statement to RCR Wireless News.
As 5G trials have started to rollout worldwide, new use cases for the high throughput network have been put into testing. The most recent test is at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Real time VR and 360 degree videos with motion tracking, stats, multiple camera angles, and more, are being tested. Traditional networks simply don’t have the bandwidth to support this much data, but so far 5G testing is holding up.
Eighteen carriers and 18 device makers have already backed it.
The promise that we’ll see the first 5G phones by 2019 has now become even more of a sure thing.
Eighteen global carriers will start 5G speed trials in 2018, using a new Qualcomm modem that’s built to handle huge amounts of data at almost instantaneous speeds — at least theoretically. The list includes Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in the US; Orange, BT and Vodafone in the UK and Telstra in Australia. (Full list below.)
What’s more, 19 global device makers have also thrown their weight behind Qualcomm’s X50 5G modem, including LG, HTC, Oppo (which owns OnePlus), Vivo, Xiaomi and the startup behind Nokia-branded phones. This partnership expands on a previous pact with Chinese phone makers in January. Scroll to the end for the full roster.
The commitment by so many carriers and handset makers underscores the reality that 5G — after years of hype — is finally upon us. The technology, which promises faster and more responsive wireless networks, is expected to radically transform our world and power other burgeoning tech like self-driving cars and the vast universe of connected devices that make up the Internet of Things.
Members of the 3GPP (the group who overseas cellular standards and specifications) has just approved their first 5G spec! The specifications will be posted next week, but this is the official standard that future 5G networks will be built off of.
Up until this time, operators running 5G trials have only had a loose outline of what the network would look like. Now, manufacturers can start pumping out hardware that will officially run as 5G devices.
Verizon CFO Matthew Ellis said that Verizon 5G is working better than expected in test markets, which has led Verizon to deploy 5G fixed wireless in up to 5 US markets. “The distance that we see that you can get over gigabit speeds, north of 2,000 feet, is part of the economics of the business case.” With the technology working without the need for direct line of sight, the technology is working on up to 20 floor buildings, not just small offices with sight to the tower. 5G from Verizon is coming, and is shaping up to be a promising internet alternative for businesses.
Telefónica-owned operator Movistar and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) have brought the first 5G test system to Argentina, allowing telecom operators and ecosystem partners such as academic institutions and industry representatives, to test 5G capabilities in a live network.
The trial, which took place in Buenos Aires, used Ericsson’s mmWave 28GHz 5G Test Bed solution, reaching a record speed of 20Gbps.
