In short: A number of officials from the stateside wireless segment dismissed Verizon’s claim of having the world’s first commercial 5G network and customers. Speaking with AndroidHeadlines under the condition of anonymity, several industry veterans pointed to the examples of Qatari carrier Ooredoo and Mississippi operator C-Spire as clear evidence that Verizon’s claims about the uniqueness of its 5G Home service are entirely false. Much like Verizon, C-Spire and several other telecom companies abroad already launched fixed wireless access solutions reliant on a proprietary specification that’s in no way associated with the 3GPP, the organization responsible for standardizing the next generation of cellular connectivity.
The four cities in which Verizon partially introduced 5G Home already have access to fiber solutions that offer comparable speeds, sometimes at an even lower price with less technical restrictions, the insiders added, concluding the firm’s service is not only not unique but also doesn’t deliver performance superior to what consumers were already able to purchase for some time now.
Background: Verizon introduced its 5G FWA service on Monday, claiming the development marks a major milestone on the road to the fifth generation of mobile networks. The solution itself doesn’t allow for mobile connectivity and instead only serves as a broadband Internet alternative. T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere publicly mocked the firm’s network, pointing to its lack of scalability and major technical restrictions, such as the fact that the availability of the service may depend on one’s apartment floor and type of electrical appliances in their household.
Impact: As far as “real,” standardized 5G cellular connectivity is concerned, AT&T recently claimed it will be the first to commercialize such a solution. While the second-largest operator in the country will be launching it in select cities in a matter of weeks, 5G-enabled Android handsets won’t be available for purchase prior to the first half of 2019. Such first-generation devices are likely to be carrier exclusives and may have issues with battery life, as was the case with the initial wave of 4G-compliant smartphones released in 2010. Both AT&T and Verizon pledged to start large-scale, standards-based 5G deployment next year, with all four major carriers in the country aiming for national 5G coverage by 2020.