By Chuck Martin
Samsung and Verizon plan to launch the first commercial 5G smartphones into the market during the first half of 2019.
The companies plan to show a proof of concept, powered by the coming Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform at a technology conference later this week.
The new 5G mobility services offer capacity and download speed significantly faster than today’s 4G LTE network.
“5G will usher in a new era of mobile connectivity, allowing people to connect to data, experiences and other people in ways never thought possible,” stated Brian Higgins, vice president, wireless device and product marketing at Verizon. “Samsung and Verizon have made huge gains in bringing 5G commercial services to consumers in several cities. Now, we’re partnering to create a smartphone to put the power of 5G in the palm of your hand.”
Verizon launched a commercial 5G service in Houston, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Sacramento in October. When the 5G service is live by June 2019, Samsung 5G phone owners will connect via Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network.
In North America, there will be 250 million subscriptions to 5G, more than half of all mobile subscriptions, by the end of 2024, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report.
Apple does not plan to offer an iPhone that can use the new 5G speeds until at least 2020, according to a report in Bloomberg.
