Verizon will launch its fixed 5G service on October 01 -- claiming the title of first 5G commercial service in the world.
The Verizon 5G Home service uses the company's proprietary 5G TF standard. Verizon said it chose to implement its own 5G TF specification in order to launch its 5G network sooner than waiting for the formal 3GPP 5G NR standard to be incorporated into network equipment, devices, chipsets and software. The company plans to upgrade any installed equipment once the full 3GPP standard is adopted by equipment suppliers.
“To deliver the full potential of 5G, a wireless network provider must have three fundamental assets: deep fiber resources, a large deployment of small cells and critical spectrum holdings. That’s Ultra Wideband,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer. “We will deliver a revolutionary 5G experience that will change how people live, work and play.”
Verizon 5G Home will initially be available in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Customers in these cities can begin ordering the service on Thursday, September 13th.
Verizon said customers should expect typical network speeds around 300 Mbps and, depending on location, peak speeds of nearly 1 Gig, with no data caps.
Verizon will offer a “First On 5G” promotion whereby customers get 3 months free. Current Verizon Wireless customers with a qualifying smartphone plan will pay $50 per month for the service, while non-Verizon Wireless customers will pay $70 per month (taxes included and no annual contract). There are no additional hardware costs. 5G Home customers will also get YouTube TV free the first three months ($40/month thereafter) and a free Apple TV 4K or Google Chromecast Ultra device at installation.
Verizon noted a series of 5G "firsts", including:
- First video call placed over a pre-commercial 5G connection on a prototype 5G device at the 2018 Super Bowl with Samsung in February
- First 5G NR data transmission in a lab with Nokia and Qualcomm in February
- First two-way data transmission of 3GPP 5G NR and the first use of multi-carrier aggregation to boost the signal into Gbps range -- outdoors -- with Nokia in June
- First transmission of a 5G NR signal to a receiver in a moving vehicle with Nokia in August
- First data transmission on a commercially deployed 5G NR network in Washington DC in September with Nokia
- First data transmission over commercial 5G NR network equipment to a prototype smartphone device in Minneapolis with Ericsson and Qualcomm in September
