Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is partnering with technology leaders to accelerate the innovation of 5G, which is expected to be deployed in the United States by 2024. The company aims to begin field testing in 2016.
Verizon together with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, Nokia Corporation, and Samsung Electronics established working teams to ensure a speedy pace of innovation on 5G.
The companies are creating 5G network environments or sandboxes at Verizon’s Innovation Centers in Waltham, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California.
Verizon’s executive vice president and chief information and technology architect, Roger Gurnani said they are committed to begin the 5G field trials next year.
5G is no longer a dream
According to Gurnani, Verizon and each of its technology partners are leaders. They collectively represent over
“5G is no longer a dream of the distant future. We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to push forward on 5G and mobilize the ecosystem by collaborating with industry leaders and developers to usher in a new generation of innovation,” said Gurnani.
Additionally, Gurnani emphasized that each of Verizon’s partner is a leader. The companies collectively represent thousands of patents and over $50 billion in annual research, development and technology investments.
“Collectively we are bringing to bear an incredible amount of resources and intellectual capital to introduce the next generation of wireless technology,” said Gurnani.
The 5G technology is expected to be 50 times faster than the existing 4G LTE. It can handle more interconnected devices and meet the expected explosion of Internet of Things.
Rima Qureshi, chief technology officer at Ericsson said, “A lot of development and requirements for 5G networks have so far come from Asian operators. It’s exciting to see a U.S. company accelerate the rate of innovation and introduce new partners.”
Verizon continues to expand 4G LTE
Marcus Weldon, chief technology officer at Alcatel-Lucent and president of Bell Labs said, “Having Verizon initiate this effort now, even as 4G LTE technology has so much headroom left, will no doubt add to the rich fabric of our digital lives for many years to come.
Verizon continues to expand its 4G LTE while starting its effort on making the 5G a reality. Gurnani said, “In addition to significant multi-billion-dollar investments in the network, we continue to work with a growing list of partners to launch new products and services on the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.
