122 PCWorld JANUARY 2020HERE’S HOW WHEN TO UPGRADE TO A 5G PHONE
Networks
Speaking of
infrastructure,
there’s no bigger
factor in buying
(or not buying) a
5G phone than
what your
wireless carrier is
doing in your
own backyard.
That’s because
5G networks are
still being built,
and the Big 4
U.S. carriers are
all battling each
other for
bragging rights.
All four carriers have some version of 5G up
and running, but depending on which
service you subscribe to, the 5G
experience will be very different. Let’s break
down who’s doing what.
Verizon: Verizon claims that 30 cities will
have 5G by the end of 2019, but so far it’s
only delivered on roughly half of that
promise, and that’s only if you include cities
with NFL stadium deployment (denoted with
an asterisk):- Atlanta, GA
- Baltimore, MD*
- Boise, ID
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Detroit, MI
- Houston, TX
- Indianapolis, IN
- Foxboro, MA
- Miami, FL*
- Minneapolis, MN*
- East Rutherford, NJ*
- New York, NY
- Omaha, NE
- Panama City, FL
- Phoenix, AZ
- Providence, RI
Verizon’s mmWave-based 5G service is pretty remarkable when you can get it.