Verizon’s 5G network now available in 31 US cities (Update - More cities added) - Android
Update, January 31, 2020 (4:43AM ET): Verizon has extended its 5G network to three more US cities. These include: Little Rock, Kansas City, and Cincinnati. These three new cities join the list of 31 other cities covered by Verizon 5G in 2019.
In Little Rock, Verizon’s 5G service will be available in parts of Midtown, University District, Birchwood, Otter Creek, and near landmarks such as: UAMS College of Medicine, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Rock Creek Square Plaza Shopping Center, and Outlets of Little Rock.
In Kansas City, the service will be concentrated in parts of Downtown, Midtown-Westport, Plaza Midtown, Olathe, and near landmarks such as: The Garment District, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Rockhurst University, as well as inside and around the professional football stadium.
In Cincinnati, Verizon 5G will cover parts of Downtown, Mt. Adams, West End, Evanston, Walnut Hills, Corryville, Clifton, Price Hill, Over-The-Rhine, Mt Auburn, Avondale, Newport, Dayton, Bellevue, and near landmarks such as: Great American Ballpark, Duke Energy Convention Center, Serpentine Wall, City Hall, Xavier University, Cincinnati Zoo, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati Christian University, and Newport Waterfront.
Verizon began its preparations for 5G years ago by densifying its 4G LTE network using small cell sites in highly-populated areas. The company’s current fiber-based network — a huge web consisting of 900,000 global fiber route miles as of August 2018 — will deliver data to Verizon’s millimeter (mmWave) 5G small cell sites scattered across the nation. In rural areas, Version will install fiber cable in 1,000-foot intervals.
Overall, Verizon’s 5G rollout plan is the exact opposite of T-Mobile: Sell a fixed in-home 5G-based service first and launch a mobile 5G service sometime thereafter. T-Mobile is focusing on nationwide 5G coverage using long-range LTE Band 71 and two other short-range mmWave bands first, followed by an in-home service at a later date.
While T-Mobile’s 5G service is based on industry standards approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project conglomerate (3GPP), Verizon is initially using its proprietary-yet-open 5G TF network standard. Verizon took this route because the company simply didn’t want to wait for the 3GPP 5G NR standard to make it to network equipment, devices, chipsets, and software. Once hardware, software, and equipment arrive using the 3GPP 5G NR standard, Verizon will update its “First on 5G” members for free.
Meanwhile, Verizon’s other big competitor AT&T is pushing to bring mobile 5G to 12 large and mid-sized cities – including Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and more – in 2018. The company will then increase that coverage to around 19 cities in 2019 and eventually expand its 5G network once it’s established the service in those 19 markets. A home network service is in the works too, which AT&T is currently testing in limited markets like South Bend, Indiana.
Don’t miss: Putting Verizon’s nascent 5G network to the test
The key takeaway from 5G is capacity in addition to faster download speeds. According to Verizon Communications chief executive Hans Vestberg, 4G can handle around 1,000 connected devices per square kilometer whereas 5G can handle one million. Meanwhile, 4G has a latency of around 200 milliseconds whereas 5G goes down to a mere 10 milliseconds.
All that said, here’s what we know about Verizon 5G and what’s to come later.
Verizon 5G uses the 28GHz and 39GHz bands, both of which are high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies. Verizon holds 76 percent of the available 28GHz band and 46 percent of the available 39GHz band. So far there’s no indication Verizon will use LTE Band 71 for long-range 5G coverage like T-Mobile.
Verizon launched its 5G-based home networking service in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento on October 1. The company will build out its 5G coverage using equipment based on the 3GPP 5G NR standard when they become available. According to Verizon, Clayton Harris of Houston, Texas, became the very first 5G customer.
Verizon’s 5G Home service is now available in portions of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. In January, as part of its quarterly conference call with investors, Verizon confirmed that it will wait until the second half of 2019 to launch the standards-based version of its 5G Home network. In October, its home 5G network expanded once again, this time to Chicago.
Samsung will provide the initial hardware for Verizon’s in-home service. Depending on the customer’s location, the professionally-installed setup may consist of a compact 5G home and outdoor router, a 5G Radio (Access Unit, Digital Unit-integrated type) and virtualized radio solutions. You’ll also receive a free Apple TV or Google Chromecast device.
According to Verizon, customers will see an average download speed of 300Mbps and a maximum download speed of 940Mbps with no data caps. By comparison, you can get a Charter Spectrum wired connection at 300Mbps for around the same price, but you’ll never see the maximum speed reported by Version.
The company’s in-home service also boasts unlimited data, no annual contracts, no additional fees, no increases, no taxes and no additional equipment charges. It only supports data, meaning you can’t use the in-home service to make cellular calls and send texts. Even more, Verizon claims it won’t throttle data as seen with its current mobile 4G LTE “unlimited” data service.
“In our testing, including rain and windy environments, there have been no indications of typical weather issues affecting 5G Home service,” Verizon states in its FAQ. The comment stems from a common problem seen with millimeter waves, as they can’t easily penetrate buildings and other obstacles. They can also be absorbed by plants and rain. Placing small cell networks throughout the city helps eliminate these barriers.
During the SCWS Americas 2018 wireless connectivity show, Verizon’s Bill Stone said 5G Home connection speeds will double within the next six months. The service currently uses Verizon’s licensed 28GHz spectrum in four 100MHz channels but will eventually expand to eight channels (800MHz).
Real-world testing shows the current download speeds can surpass Verizon’s advertised 300Mbps, hitting 600Mbps and 800Mbps. These tests were conducted by Emil Olbrich, VP of networks at Signals Research Group. He said Verizon already expanded its 5G Home service to six channels at 100MHz each since launch, increasing the initial download and upload speeds. Distance and obstacles seem to have very little effect despite the use of short millimeter waves.
To demonstrate its new in-home 5G Home service, Verizon launched 5G Experience Labs in its four current markets. Although the “labs” remained open for only a week, these experiences provided examples of how gaming and VR will benefit from 5G connectivity. For example, the company teamed up with LiquidSky to showcase high-resolution game streaming on a mobile device paired with a wireless controller. Another demonstration, 5G VR Basketball, enabled players to shoot hoops without seeing the actual, physical hoop.
In November 2018, the company announced it had completed the first 5G data transmission on its network to a smartphone, and in April 2019 it began rolling out its mobile 5G service in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Specifically, in Chicago, Verizon’s 5G coverage is available the West Loop, the South Loop, The Gold Coast, Old Town and River North. It’s also around well-known buildings like Union Station, Willis Tower, The Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park and The Chicago Theatre. The Verizon store on The Magnificent Mile also has 5G coverage.
In Minneapolis, Verizon’s 5G service is mostly in the city’s Downtown area, including Downtown West and Downtown East. It will also be inside the U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Minneapolis Central Library, the Mill City Museum, Target Center and First Avenue. It’s also available at The Commons, areas of Elliot Park and in the Verizon store in The Mall of America.
In late June, Verizon expanded its 5G network to include parts of Denver, and on July 1 it will expand again to parts of Providence, Rhode Island. If you live in Denver, Verizon’s 5G network is available in areas of Highlands, South of 37th between Tejon and Navajo Streets. It’s also available at LoDo and at Coors Field. Denver’s Central Business District also has 5G network spots at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Sculpture Park, and outside Paramount Theatre. Finally, 5G speeds can be found at Capitol Hill and Northern Sections of The Denver Tech Center.
In Providence, Verizon’s 5G speeds are available in parts of College Hill, Federal Hill, Mt. Hope, and at both the Erickson Athletic Complex and Wriston Quadrangle buildings of Brown University. 5G speeds are also available at the Rhode Island School of Design and Providence College.
In mid July, Verizon announced that parts of St. Paul, Minnesota now are covered by the carrier’s 5G network. Specifically, customers with 5G devices can check out the higher download speeds in parts of the downtown area, along with parts of the Lowertown and West Seventh neighborhoods around buildings and landmarks like the Minnesota Children’s Museum, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Fitzgerald Theater, Cathedral Hill Park and the Alexander Ramsey House.
In late July, Verizon expanded its 5G network to include parts of Washington DC, Atlanta, Detroit, and Indianapolis. In Washington DC, the 5G network is available in parts of Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle, Cardozo / U Street, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Le Droit Park, Georgetown Waterfront, Judiciary Square, Shaw, Eckington, NOMA, National Mall and the Smithsonian, Gallery Place / Chinatown, Mt. Vernon Square, Downtown, Penn Quarter, Brentwood, Southwest Waterfront, and the Navy Yard. It also covers parts of Crystal City, Virginia. 5G speeds can also be accessed around many of the city’s famous buildings and landmarks, such as Ronald Reagan National Airport, United States Botanical Gardens, Hart Senate Building, National Gallery of Art, Lafayette Square, The White House, Freedom Plaza, Farragut Square, George Washington University, Capital One Arena, Union Station, Howard University Hospital, George Washington University Hospital, and Georgetown Waterfront Park.
In Atlanta, Verizon has 5G speeds in parts of Downtown, Midtown, Tech Square, and around landmarks as The Fox Theater, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Mercedes Benz Stadium, Home Depot Backyard, Centennial Olympic Park, Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca Cola, and parts of Renaissance Park. Detroit customers can access 5G speeds in parts of Dearborn, Livonia, and Troy, including areas around the Oakland-Troy Airport.
Indianapolis customers can access Verizon’s 5G network in parts of Arsenal Heights, Bates Hendricks, Castleton, Crown Hill, Fountain Square, Grace Tuxedo Park, Hawthorne, Historic Meridian Park, Lockerbie Square, Ransom Place, Renaissance Place, St. Joseph Historic Neighborhood, Upper Canal and Woodruff Place and around such landmarks and public spaces as Garfield Park, and Indiana University School of Medicine.
In late August, Verizon added Phoenix as its 10th city that could access its 5G network. It’s available in parts of downtown Phoenix, around landmarks like the Phoenix Convention Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena, The Orpheum Theatre, CityScape, and Chase Field. 5G network speeds are also available on the Arizona State University campus in nearby Tempe.
Verizon announced in early September that parts of many NFL stadiums in the US now have 5G wireless support. While the service will mostly be in parts of the stadium seating areas, they could be available in other parts of each stadium as well. The official list includes:
On September 26, three more US cities added support for Verizon’s 5G network. They include parts of New York City:
Another city that now has Verizon 5G support is Boise, Idaho. Those speeds can be accessed in Downtown Boise, West Boise, West End, Meridian, and Boise Junction. It’s also available around such landmarks as the Idaho State Capitol, St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center, Fort Boise Park, Capital City Event Center, and Boise Town Square.
Parts of Panama City, Florida now have Verizon 5G network support. They include Downtown Panama City, Forest Park, and the Lower Grand Lagoon in Panama City Beach.
In October, Verizon added 5G support to three major sports and entertainment areas. They include the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, the Chance Center in San Francisco, California, and Pepsi Arena in Denver, Colorado. Verizon plans to add 5G speeds in the near future to Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Later in that same month, Verizon added 5G support to parts of Dallas, Texas. They include Knox/Henderson, Downtown Dallas, Uptown, Medical Center Area, and Deep Ellum. 5G speeds are aslo available in and around Parkland Memorial Hospital, Children’s Medical Center, Jade Waters Pool, Dallas Comedy House, The Curtain Club, Dallas Theological Seminary and Turtle Creek Park.
Verizon’s 5G network is also now available in parts of Omaha, Nebraska. It can be accessed in and around Downtown Omaha, Old Market, Omaha Children’s Museum, The Orpheum Theatre, The Durham Museum, Heartland of America Par
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