Verizon Tries To Temper 5G Enthusiasm After Report Clearly Shows US 5G Is Slow, Lame

Overhype

from the ill-communication dept

For the better part of two years, Verizon has insisted that fifth-generation wireless (5G) would revolutionize everything. Simply by upgrading from 4G to 5G, Verizon repeatedly insisted, we’d usher forth a “fourth industrial revolution,” resulting in smarter cars, smarter cities, and an endless array of innovation. 5G technology was so incredible, Verizon insisted, that it would also quickly usher forth incredible new cancer cures, allowing doctors to conduct remote heart surgery while wearing VR/AR headsets from the back of a rickshaw.

Granted 5G was never actually that exciting. While an important update in terms of faster and more reliable mobile networks, the technology was rushed to market in such a way that coverage was sparse and overstated, 5G handsets were expensive and clunky, and service plans were equally pricey. Worse, recent studies have suggested that because the U.S. lacks a lot of the mid-band spectrum available in other countries (read: policy failure), 5G in the United States is going to be significantly slower and not all that much different than 4G (at least for a while).

On the heels of one particularly damning 5G report on slow US speeds by OpenSignal, Verizon is now suddenly attempting to temper enthusiasm, noting that 5G at first won’t be all that much different from existing 4G networks:

“In the beginning, you’re going to see some improvements. Over time, dramatic improvements,” Vestberg said. “We already have one of the best 4G networks in the world, so that’s what you’re competing with. It’s not like you’re competing with an inferior 4G network. In the beginning, it’s going to be small [improvements on 5G].”

Verizon’s problem is that while the company will be deploying a lot of millimeter wave (mmwave) spectrum in key urban markets, that flavor of 5G lacks range and can’t penetrate walls particularly well (for 5G conspiracy theorists, that means the technology is less likely to penetrate your skin and harm you, as well). For most users, what you see now with 4G is what you’ll get for several years to come:

“But millimeter-wave frequencies don’t travel as far as low- and mid-band radio waves and are easily blocked by walls and other obstacles, making them unsuitable for nationwide coverage. As such, Vestberg was asked whether consumers will see a noticeable difference between 4G and 5G in areas without millimeter-wave coverage. Vestberg said that customers will eventually see “dramatic improvements,” but not in the near term.”

Again, that’s a far cry from Verizon’s marketing materials. Especially the ads insisting that 5G will revolutionize healthcare (despite the fact that most hospitals will continue to use existing WiFi and fiber connections and not less reliable cellular, no matter how speedy). U.S. consumers, who already pay some of the highest prices in the world for Verizon 4G service, will also need to pay $10 extra a month (you know, just because), and shell out significant cash for early-adoption 5G devices that are fatter, more expensive, and have worse battery life than their current gear.

Again, 5G five to ten years from now will be a good thing in that it provides faster speeds, lower latency, and more resilient networks. For now though, the consensus remains that 5G has been aggressively over-hyped to spur lagging smartphone sales and network gear orders, and there’s no need to rush toward 5G’s “transformative” technology anytime in the next year or two.

Filed Under: 5g, enthusiasm, oversold
Companies: verizon