Verizon Proclaims To Launch 5G Service In Five Cities

Verizon is moving closer to releasing its first business 5G commercial, with the company announcing today that it envisions moving 5G service out of three to five cities one year from now. The rollout starts in Sacramento, California, sometime in the second half of 2018.

There isn’t significantly more information beyond the location and general launch window—Verizon isn’t, despite commenting with reference to what technologies it’ll be using or what speeds to foresee. 

So we don’t generally know yet if this is something like AT&T’s fake “5G Evolution” network, which saw the company repurpose existing technology from the LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced standards for higher speeds or a genuine, real 5G deployment of advancement from the actual 5G NR standard.

Verizon says in its open proclamation that the rollout relies upon the company’s “belief in new technology powered by millimeter-wave spectrum,” which gives some desire that it’s the real thing. Sacramento looks good as a first city for Verizon, nonetheless, a test that it was one of the 11 cities where the company had started a test on 5G earlier this year.

Inconspicuous components in the other four candidate cities, with more information on the initial Sacramento rollout, are coming “at a later date.”