Carriers have been in a frantic battle pretending to rollout 5G service for both mobile devices and home internet. Verizon was the first to rollout what it calls 5G home internet to customers in four US cities last year. However, it’s not technically 5G, and now Verizon is likely going stop rolling out the service until later this year when standards-based 5G hardware is actually available.
As reported by VentureBeat, Verizon has detailed that it won’t have true 5G hardware for its 5G Home service ready until later this year. That means expansion to more markets beyond Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Houston won’t be likely until the second half of 2019.
As we previously covered, Verizon’s 5G Home service that started rolling out in October was built on pre-5G standards hardware. Now, as noted by VentureBeat, the company’s CEO detailed that true standards-based 5G hardware won’t be available for its home internet service until 2H 2019.
During today’s Q4 2018 earnings conference call with analysts, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said that standards-based 5G home hardware isn’t coming until the second half of 2019, effectively confirming that the four-city 5G Home network won’t expand much beyond its current footprint until then.
AT&T used its own questionable marketing tactics last month when it started replacing 4G on Android smartphones with an “5G E” icon. As our sister-site 9to5Google noted, this was quite misleading.
This change, of course, doesn’t actually mean these devices are using the carrier’s 5G network, but rather it’s reflecting the branded “enhanced” version of 4G LTE which is called “5G Evolution.”
As for Apple, the company is expected to skip 5G modems with its 2019 iPhone lineup and wait for 2020. However, the company is expected to be testing 5G modems from Intel this year in preparation. Also, Apple is reportedly developing its own custom modems as well as its own chips for Macs and more.
Last month Verizon also teased that it will rollout its first true 5G mobile hotspot sometime this year. Check out our deep-dive guide on 5G for more on the next generation or cellular networking.
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