Verizon launches nationwide 5G service

With its focus on high-band mmWave 5G, it only made sense that Verizon would be the last of the three major carriers to debut a nationwide 5G network. That’s because mmWave airwaves travel for a short distance only. They do deliver the fastest 5G download speeds, but this service is limited to just a few areas of the country. Today, during Apple’s “Hi, Speed” event, it was subtly announced that Verizon had launched its nationwide 5G network just under 10 months after T-Mobile became the first in the U.S.with coast-to-coast 5G. Verizon had been promoting its upcoming nationwide 5G service, and now it is here.

Verizon introduces its nationwide 5G service

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, who respectfully maintained social distancing with Apple CEO Tim Cook during today’s pre-recorded event, said in a press release, “We were first in the world to 5G and we are continuing to drive 5G forward. Our job, our passion, is to push the boundaries of what’s possible, to bring the ecosystem together and to create experiences consumers and enterprises never even knew they needed or wanted. From the start, our focus has been on building a transformational 5G network that will drastically reshape society. Today’s announcement brings us one step closer to that future. We couldn’t be more proud to share this news alongside Apple on this historic day, giving iPhone 12 customers access to speeds and experiences only made possible through 5G. 5G just got real.”

After adding some new markets to 5G Ultra Wideband coverage, Verizon now has its fastest signals available in 55 cities with the count expected to hit 60 before the end of the year. The newest cities added include:

• Arlington, TX
• Las Vegas, NV
• San Francisco, CA
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Louisville, KY
• Sarasota, FL
• Anaheim, CA
• Milwaukee, WI
• St. Louis, MO
• Baltimore, MD
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Syracuse, NY
• Fort Wayne, IN
• Philadelphia, PA
• Tucson, AZ
• Hartford, CT
• Raleigh, NC
• Jersey City, NJ
• Richmond, VA

Verizon also added 19 new stadiums and arenas that support its 5G Ultra Wideband service. These include Citi Field, FedExForum, the Golden 1 Center, Lambeau Field, Progressive Field, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Red Bull Arena, SoFi Stadium, and State Farm Stadium. Several airports also support the network such as Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Des Moines International Airport, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and San Antonio International Airport.

The carrier has been able to increase the speeds available to some of its Ultra Wideband customers through the use of carrier aggregation. By combining eight separate channels, Big Red can provide customers in some cities with “record-setting multi-gigabit speeds,” double what they had been experiencing, with download data speeds peaking at 4Gbps in some locations.

The just-announced Verizon 5G Nationwide network covers more than 200 million people using lower frequency airwaves and a technology called “Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS).” With DSS, 5G service runs alongside 4G LTE on the same band. When a 5G Ultra Wideband customer moves outside of the service area, with DSS he/she will remain connected to 5G using lower band spectrum. The technology also allows Verizon to use its network resources to support both 4G and 5G signals. The nationwide 5G service is running starting today.

Kyle Malady, Chief Technology Officer at Verizon, says, “Delivering the 5G network that is the foundational technology that will revolutionize nearly all aspects of our lives stems from tried and true world-class engineering, a solid technical foundation, and scaled deployment of emerging technologies. Just as we did with 4G, we are not only speeding deployment but also advancing 5G technology itself. We will continue to push the limits of this technology to unleash the full potential of 5G.”