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Verizon is betting that customers will pay for Samsung's new 5G smartphone, even though the price is high and the technology infrastructure is still under construction.
"It's a great experience," said Hans Vestberg, Verizon's CEO, in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday.
"I think there will be people who will take it in. We already see tens of thousands of customers taking it," he said. "And today, it's the first day you can actually buy it."
The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the first device compatible with Verizon's new 5G network. It follows the Motorola Z3, which also runs on 5G, but only if you buy an additional $ 200 accessory that allows it.
The first customer of the day, SK Telecom 5G, introduced its new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone at a launch event at a SK Telecom store in Seoul on April 5, 2019.
Jung Yeon-I | AFP | Getty Images
Verizon sells a $ 1,299 version of the Galaxy S10 5G, as well as a $ 1,399 model with twice as much storage capacity.
However, the country's 5G network is still under construction. Verizon's 5G network is currently only available in Chicago and Minneapolis, but is expected to be available in 20 US cities by the end of the year.
Vestberg said that the 5G experience was "so very different" from the 4G because it can reach over 1.3 gigabit per second on the network – a rate much faster than 4G.
When asked what kind of market share gain he could expect from the release of 5G phones, Mr. Vestberg said, "Let's see how that goes." However, he said the company had "great ambition".
"We have the best network and we want to be the first with technology."
The company plans to eventually offer four 5G phones this year, and three quarters of the phones it will launch next year will be equipped with the 5G.
"The ecosystem is growing extremely fast," Vestberg said.
AT & T, Sprint and T-Mobile plan to roll out their 5G networks for phones later this year.
– Todd Haselton of CNBC contributed to this report.
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