A limited version of the next generation communication technology 5G will be available for use starting this October 1.
The company implementing this technology is Verizon and users may recall that the same ISP had launched 4G LTE when it was first released.
The initial launch is limited on two counts—one is the service will be available only as a fixed connection for households and the other is that only a few U.S. cities will be able to subscribe to the new technology.
Details of the New Service
It has been announced that Verizon will begin the installations by October 1 and as soon as they complete the installation, the subscribers should be able to use the 5G broadband service in their devices capable of running it.
The company calls it Verizon 5G Home. There is no mobile equivalent of the service yet. The cities to be covered are Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Houston and Sacramento.
If you live in any of these cities and you are already a Verizon customer for wireless services, then the monthly fee for availing the 5G Home service will be $50; while for non-customers, it will be $70 a month.
Still Some Distance to Go for the Full Service
This would mark the first-ever 5G rollout anywhere in the world. The only caveat here is that in the strictest sense, what Verizon will release is not 5G but will deliver speeds higher than 4G.
The reason for this is the equipment needed to deliver the newly developed 5G technology is yet to reach the service providers.
Verizon hopes to do the nationwide rollout once the equipment—which will be rated world standard for delivering 5G service—arrives. The early bird users who subscribe now will be automatically upgraded later.
Others Are Gearing up Too
Verizon might claim that it is the forerunner in this race but others are on its tail. AT&T, for instance, is on course to offer the full suit 5G service (including for mobile phones) possibly before Christmas.
T-Mobile is another company gearing up to have 5G service in its portfolio, but its plans may spill over to 2019. You will need the 5G-ready smartphones to avail the service in its true form.
So far in the U.S. market, Sprint and LG alone have indicated that they will have 5G-enabled devices. Even here, the exact dates these devices would be available and will be able to fully support the features of the service are yet to be announced.
You Can Experience Great Speeds with 5G
In its statement to customers, Verizon has said that those who opt to have the Verizon 5G Home service installed at their homes can expect download speeds starting with 300 Mbps (megabytes per second).
This would be at least three times the average speed currently being enjoyed by people of less than 85 Mbps. And this is the lower limit.
Depending on the kind of device you are trying to connect with, there may be three times this speed and touch even 1 Gbps (gigabytes per second). That would mean you can download even bulk files, such as movies, within seconds.
An example is citied of how a 1GB video that takes 1 minute and 32 seconds using the 4G technology can be done in just eight seconds. Users can save time and other resources through this.
Avail Some Additional Benefits
Verizon is further sugar coating the initial subscription with a range of offers. They are offering a free installation of the equipment at your home, three months’ free subscription and free access to YouTube TV free of cost for a whole of three months.
You can claim an Apple TV along with the Verizon 5G Home package if you are one among the earliest ones to subscribe.
Though Verizon has taken a much longer time to test and launch the service, it is hoped that they will settle down to making it spread across the U.S., and leading ISPs in other countries will join the race too.