5G WIRE: Verizon home, T-Mobile core, CCS forecasts

5G
Image credit: HealthyTechSTUDIO / Shutterstock.com

5G action this day: Verizon to launch fixed wireless 5G next month; T-Mobile finishes deploying 5G core using Cisco SDN gear; CCS upgrades 5G uptake forecasts as cellcos go gaga

 Verizon to launch fixed wireless 5G next month

Hellbent on winning the “we launched 5G before our competition, suck it losers” award, Verizon has announced it will commercially launch its ‘5G Home’ fixed wireless on October 1 in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento, although customers can sign up for the service now.

Verizon says customers can expect typical network speeds around 300 Mbps and, depending on location, peak speeds of nearly 1 Gbps, with no data caps. The marketing campaign is targeting consumers looking to “cut the cord” or upgrade from their current cable service (the initial package for early subscribers includes a free Apple TV 4K or Google Chromecast Ultra device at installation, plus YouTube TV free the first three months.

5G verizon
Image credit: Verizon

Verizon says it will charge $50 a month for existing Verizon Wireless customers (with a qualifying smartphone plan) and $70 a month for everyone else. No annual contract is required. Read more …

T-Mobile finishes deploying 5G core using Cisco SDN gear

T-Mobile says it has completed its virtualized packet core buildout across its nationwide footprint using Cisco’s distributed SDN architecture, thus establishing the foundation to deploy 5G faster while realizing the full potential of virtualization and cloud.

The two companies have also signed a five year agreement to continue buildout of T-Mobile’s 5G packet core and policy suite spanning hardware, software and services.

T-Mobile is laying the groundwork for 5G now with 600 MHz deployments and expects to launch 5G for customers in 2019 when smartphones become available, with nationwide coverage in 2020. Read more …

CCS upgrades 5G uptake forecasts as cellcos go gaga

Tech analyst firm CCS Insight has upgraded its near-term 5G uptake forecasts as operators scramble to be the first on the block to launch 5G services in some form or other more quickly than previously expected.

CCS is now projecting 5G connections to reach 340 million in 2021, and surpass 1 billion in the first half of 2023. By 2025, the total is expected to hit 2.7 billion, equivalent to more than one connection in every five in the world.

5G uptake
Image credit: CCS Insights

“The intentions of major US carriers to launch 5G in late 2018 have been clear for a while. But recently we’ve seen greater urgency to deploy networks from providers in Europe, the Middle East and China,” said Kester Mann, principal analyst at CCS Insight. “While Europe may still be around a year adrift of the leading markets in 5G, some regional operators are clearly determined to launch commercial services as soon as next year”. Read more …

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