Verizon gets flawless data on 5G data speeds, then slams discussions at AT & T and T-Mobile

This week, I had the privilege of being one of the first journalists to test Verizon's first 5G mobile network, which launched in Chicago and Minneapolis Wednesday. Although The launch of Verizon in 5G revealed deep problems The ability of 5G technology to profoundly change the way we use our phones is still as relevant today as it was before the launch of Verizon – and the carrier knows it well. Verizon also knows that after selling to you on the 5G in general, it must reach you before AT & T, T-Mobile and Sprint.

The 5G promises extremely fast download speeds and low or slow latency by connecting to a data network. Beyond the use of the mobile phone, industries as varied as town planning, manufacturing and medicine will all be able to exploit the huge bandwidth of 5G to allow machines to communicate almost instantly between them. Even starting from the wrong foot, the 5G's ascendance as a possible replacement for 4G is a fact and not a fad.

"We do not just re-label a technology … [5G] is significant, "said Mike Haberman, Verizon's vice president of network engineering, who was introduced to me on the phone under the name of" Mr. 5G. " "Http://www.cnet.com/" This will change the way people work, it will change the efficiency of businesses. This will change the education. "

As wonderful as the future of 5G may be, the first attractions of our presence in 5G were confusing, frustrating and disappointing, as the extremely fast speeds of some benchmarking tests did not generate real gains when downloading large app and video files. The first and only Verizon 5G phone, the Moto Z3 with 5G Moto Mod, also seemed unable to lock and maintain a 5G connection, often twinkling towards a 4G icon. And when the Moto Mod battery I was using was completely exhausted, my 5G was also cut off, without me even realizing it.

Verizon (and Motorola) understand these problems – I stayed in close contact with them all day – and recognize that there is still work to be done.

"In an ideal world, the consumer should see no difference in the way he uses the phone," said Doug Michau, Motorola's product operations manager for North America, acknowledging that other critics and commentators other responders had to turn back to capture the 5G signal. by switching to airplane mode. "If you're out of reach, [the phone] should switch to LTE ".

Despite my noisy complaints, the beginnings of the network do not seem to confuse Verizon. The wireless service provider wants to act quickly and aggressively to develop its 5G network as quickly and in the most robust way possible. Errors will be made. Improvements will be made. Verizon plays the long game in 5G.

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5G speeds will be much faster

Verizon has publicly stated that its first 5G customers should expect typical speeds in the 450 megabits per second range, with peak speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

"This is the first time, 450Mbps is the conservative number, 600 to 700Mbps is what they saw on the market," Haberman said. And that's true. During my tests, the benchmarking application Speedtest.net recorded download speeds of up to 634 Mbps. Haberman says it's only the beginning.

"Those crazy speeds you're going to see right now are going to improve dramatically this year," Haberman said. "It's only the beginning."

Verizon currently uses half of its available wireless spectrum, which means that the speeds themselves can be even faster. On average, Verizon will have a bandwidth of 1 GHz available in many markets. Currently, network technology can not take advantage of all this spectrum, but by the end of 2019, it will do so.

Verizon's plan to expand its 5G network also exceeds the spectrum. The way operators build their networks also plays a role, according to Haberman. The type of 5G used by Verizon, the mmWave technology (ie a millimeter wave), uses higher frequency waves, which has the effect of keeping the antennas close.

You can place more antennas in a smaller space, which will then allow Verizon to use a 5G data transmission technique called beam shaping, shaping, or beam orientation, which directs the signal appropriately than to "spray" energy around the source. area. This should make 5G coverage more efficient than 4G coverage, which should give you a stronger 5G signal.

Why low latency is so important

In addition to faster download speeds, low latency is another benefit often cited by 5G. This is crucial for real-world projects such as AR and VR, streaming games with lots of graphics, remote surgery, and clear video calls.

"The 4G does not do well with AR / VR, if you do not have the latency of 20 milliseconds, you get sick, your mind simply can not handle it," Haberman said. that Verizon had promised a latency of In 30 milliseconds, Verizon sees 5G devices connecting to its network in 19 milliseconds.

The construction of the 5G will look like this

Verizon announced that it would deploy 5G in 30 cities by 2019, but that it would also continue to expand 5G on existing networks such as Chicago and Minneapolis. Verizon uses decentralized teams so that different markets can focus on their local footprints.

"We will see expansion at all levels, we are very optimistic about 5G technology," said Haberman, noting that the carrier will install its 5G nodes on existing towers and target areas with high density. population, like large sites.

And if you do not live in an urban center? The chronology is more murky. Verizon's "M. 5G" hinted that some projects in preparation could accelerate the adoption of 5G in more rural areas.

At some point, Verizon will convert part of its 4G network into a 5G network only. Some carriers already do this, for example, by increasing the 4G speeds to "LTE Advanced". Verizon said he hoped to wait for people to start signing up for the 5G before doing so, to avoid subtracting the 4G spectrum from existing customers.

And when people start using 5G, Haberman says that 4G speeds will also improve. Upgrading customers will use more 5G spectrum, which should theoretically release more 4G capacity, which will reduce congestion and improve throughput.

"We saw the same thing when we deployed LTE technology," said Haberman, a 29-year-old veteran of Verizon, who oversaw the launch of the CDMA, EVDO and LTE network, adding that for customers of the 5G, "the device will make the decision in 4G or 5G .. the user should not do anything."

Haberman also stressed the importance of keeping 4G alive: "LTE still has a lot of leads in front of it, so you will continue to see us deploy, this technology will not disappear in a number of years."

Verizon Mocks AT & T's 5G E and T-Mobile

Haberman of Verizon did not hesitate to talk about AT & T, his biggest rival. AT & T recently launched 5G E or 5G Evolution, the network angered customers and operators, who called it "fake 5G"and nothing more than a marketing coup.

"5GE is LTE Advanced. [for] a carrier like us with the most advanced features LTE deployed (…) is a marketing game, "he said.

"AT & T is trying to catch up in the deployment of the advanced LTE feature, giving the impression that the network is accelerating in relation to itself … The same thing has been available for years."

AT & T does not have one.

"Our 5G-based mobile network was launched commercially in December 2018," said a spokesman for AT & T, highlighting a tweet Assistant Vice President Jim Greer on a speed test of 1 Gbps on his 5G mobile network (not 5G E). Ookla, who created the Speedtest.net app, also named AT & T the fastest American network Wednesday, day of the launch of Verizon 5G, on all network types, based on the speeds recorded during the first quarter of 2019.

"I think [Verizon’s] The spokesman is trying to scramble the tracks, "continued AT & T spokesman in an email. They can complain about marketing anything they want (you can ask them to remove the network claims from their provider), but the tests are clear, experience for our customers. That's exactly why we use the word "evolution" to make it clear that our evolution of 5G is a step on our way to 5G. "

Haberman did not mince his words when it came to T-Mobile either, claiming that T-Mobile's plan to develop 5G at lower frequencies, say 600 MHz, misses out on benefits of beamforming and takes advantage of the considerable bandwidth allowed by the 5G. .

"Your capacity gains, your debits do not change the game. You could say that it's the same as LTE Advanced, and you get benefits in terms of latency," Haberman conceded. "You do not meet the 5G criteria, you're getting rid of two or three criteria."

A spokesman for T-Mobile replied:

Verizon's plan is to build 5G For The Few technology with a mmWave spectrum that will never go beyond outdoor hotspots in dense urban areas. That's why they will not issue a cover card, but they will be happy to charge $ 10 more per month to their customers for something they will never find. The mmWave spectrum offers tremendous capacity, but on a reduced footprint, and can not cross windows or walls. It's physics. We calculated what it would take for Verizon to create enough cell sites to provide a national 5G coverage with mmWave – 1.5 TRILLION.

However, the low-bandwidth spectrum – which provides the broad coverage needed to reach every American nation – does not have a sufficient depth of capability.

… that's why T-Mobile's project to build 5G for all uses a combination of all spectrum bands.

Sprint's CTO, John Saw, also crammed.

"The first test results seem to indicate millimeter-wave coverage limits, we wish Verizon good luck, but it seems like they'll need a lot more sites to reach a more robust 5G footprint," he said. he said in an email, adding that the future launch of Sprint at 2.5 GHz spectrum will focus on a wider coverage band.

"We will offer 5G coverage ranging from approximately 20 square miles in downtown Chicago to approximately 230 square miles covering the Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area, for an initial total coverage of 5G of over 1,000 square miles." in our nine launch cities. "said Saw.

Verizon's limpid speech is confident, but also remember that he does not build the 5G by leveraging the goodness of his corporate heart. There is also the extra benefit that 5G can earn, up to $ 10 more per month per line. That's $ 120 more per customer per year, and with 145.74 million customers in 2018, according to Statista, this represents a potential $ 265.74 million more per year for service growth if all of its customers went to 5G.

With a firm deployment plan and these numbers as a hanging carrot, it's no wonder that Verizon manages to dispel fears of fragile 5G performance.

In the end, if Verizon can solve these early connection problems, its "bullish" investment in 5G will be absolutely profitable.

History originally published on April 5 at 13:41. PT.
Update April 6 at 9:20 am Pacific Time: Added Sprint comment. Fixed the description of AT & T speeds on its 5G network, and not 5G E, and that the Ookla acknowledgment was aimed at all types of AT & T networks .
Updated, 13:51 PT: Adding more context.