While other carriers are still working on expanding their 4G networks, companies like AT&T and Verizon are already developing their own 5G technologies. We still have a few years to go before 5G actually becomes available, but Verizon has already claimed that it’ll be the first American carrier to offer it. Naturally, AT&T isn’t just going to sit back and watch that happen, and the company announced on Friday that it’s planning to begin testing its 5G technology, which is being developed in collaboration with Ericsson, in Austin by the end of the year. The company claims that its 5G connections will be 10-100 times faster than existing 4G LTE connections.
AT&T is unveiling its 5G roadmap to bring customers the next-generation of super-fast, flexible wireless connectivity. Technologies such as millimeter waves, network function virtualization (NFV), and software-defined networking (SDN) will be among the key ingredients for future 5G experiences. AT&T Labs has been working on these technologies for years and has filed dozens of patents connected with them. We plan to collaborate with Ericsson and Intel to work on 5G solutions in our labs starting in the second quarter of this year, with outdoor tests and trials over the summer. And, we expect field trials of 5G technologies to provide wireless connectivity to fixed locations in Austin before the end of this year. The trials will help guide our 5G standards contributions, and set the stage for widespread commercial and mobile availability once technology standards for 5G are established. We expect 5G to deliver speeds 10-100 times faster than today’s average 4G LTE connections. Customers will see speeds measured in gigabits per second, not megabits. For reference, at one gigabit per second, you can download a TV show in less than 3 seconds. Customers will also see much lower latency with 5G. Latency, for example, is how long it takes after you press play on a video app for the video to start streaming on your device. We expect 5G latency in the range of 1 to 5 milliseconds.
