5G networks may seem like something that isn’t near completion or near a point where they can be considered ready for public consumption, but the reality of having a 5G network that is capable of delivering insanely fast speeds is closer than most might think. Among the companies working towards bringing 5G network speeds to their customers is Verizon Wireless, who has already announced that they would be looking to pilot 5G networks in a few markets starting as early as sometime next year, and just last week Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam met with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler urging the importance of having higher band spectrum to use for 5G.
In addition to requesting the use of higher band spectrum above the 24GHz band, McAdam spent time with both the Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President of Verizon in the meeting with Wheeler discussing their interests in the use of LTE-U deployment to their customers which McAdam notes would make for a “better broadband experience.” While Verizon is eager in getting 5G deployment off to a running start, not everyone in the industry shares their sentiments, as AT&T is noted in believing it may be premature to start laying out the plans for 5G networks at this time.
Verizon is confident in their work so far with 5G, so much so that they’re planned commercial tests for the speeds could happen sometime in early January. While it’s impossible to know right now what Verizon’s 5G speeds will be capable of, Verizon believes they can deliver speeds of 1Gbps to mobile customers which is much faster than what’s already available currently on Verizon’s LTE network. Whether or not those speeds can be reached remains to be seen, and even if Verizon can obtain those speeds during commercial testing they’ll still need to be able to deliver them consistently over a public network. Verizon is reportedly working with multiple companies to test the 5G network in, including Nokia, Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Intel. Verizon’s commitment to getting 5G off the ground sooner also strengthens their commitment and displayed interest in getting the future of the wireless network developed for use on a more global scale.