Verizon 5G Network Test: A Wild Goose Hunt for Amazing Data Speeds

How was it to use the new Verizon 5G phone on its 5G network from one day? A bit like using 4G. In fact, in some cases it did not seem a little different. At 10 am this morning, I went through the freezing cold – the desperately tight coffee in my hand – in the Verizon storefront store located on the Chicago Magnificent Mile, to test Verizon's 5G network, which was officially launched in Chicago and Minneapolis on Wednesday. I spent the day in the city center quickly testing Verizon's mmWave 5G technology on the Moto Z3, with his 5G Moto Mod attachment, officially the first Verizon 5G phone.

It was not good. I've visited four sites ready for the 5G across downtown, hoping to be blown away. A few times, I have seen theoretical download speeds hugging 600 megabits per second, in the Speedtest.net application. But the downloads in the real world did not take, the Moto Z3 wavered between the 5G and 4G like a flame and the downloads in the real world took the same time as the connection to the 5G, as when I removed the Moto Mod.

I was expecting irregularities, even erratic behavior – after all, it's brand new – I did not expect it to be such a big wash.

Reading in progress:
Look at this:

Verizon 5G vs. 4G Speed ​​Test

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Verizon jumped the rifle while lighting 5G earlier than its April 11 target, a decision that underlines its belief that acting quickly and aggressively in 5G will give its network, which is already the largest in the United States, a competitive advantage. Next-generation wireless technology, 5G, is widely advocated as a quick fix for slow data connections, slow download speeds for slow phones. The 5G is positioned to revolutionize the industry, increase data connections from 10 to 100 times the current 4G speeds and allow a host of new usessuch as remote surgery and intelligent traffic lights that talk to each other so that traffic flows smoothly.

This is not exactly the 5G that we are going to see today, and this is not supposed to be it. Carriers such as Verizon and AT & T have long been talking about an extended deployment plan, starting in the neighborhoods of some major cities before expanding to other cities: 30 are on the Verizon roadmap for 2019 Speeds should also be faster. 4G at first, but not madly as operators develop their 5G networks over time.

"These crazy speeds you're going to see now are going to improve dramatically this year," said Mike Haberman, Verizon's vice president of network engineering, earlier this morning. "It's only the beginning."

By "this", Haberman refers to the typical network speeds I should see today with Verizon's 5G, which the network provider calls the 5G Ultra Wideband. Verizon says it expects "typical speeds of 450 Mbps, with maximum speeds of nearly 1 Gbps and a latency of less than 30 milliseconds".

We must also talk about this Moto Z3 for a minute. It is a mid-range device capable of channeling Verizon's 5G network through a sturdy antenna and the internal modem inside the 5G Moto Mod, sold separately. The Z3 is on sale now at $ 240 (usually $ 480); The Moto Mod is also on sale for $ 200 (usually $ 350), and you must have a Z3 on your account to buy it. The Verizon 5G service is a $ 10 premium over the regular plan, but your first three months are free.

Motorola and Verizon have a special (contractual) relationship, but in a decade, when we look at the first series of 5G phones, the Moto Z3 with 5G Moto Mod will not go down in history as Motorola's success first cellular call 46 years ago.

But this will remain the first real glimpse of our inevitable 5G future.

A word about 5G before you start

5G is not just one thing. There are several approaches. Sub-6. Millimeter wave (mmWave). AT & T has even been charged with (and sued) "fake 5G"With this new world of 5G is created a cosmos of new jargon.

For example, Verizon's 5G network uses the 28 GHz and 39 GHz mmWave bands to provide an average bandwidth of 1 GHz nationally. If that does not mean a lot to you, it could help you get up to date with our 5G primer.

This is a story in development. Stay tuned for more updates on our 5G tests throughout the day.