OCTOBER 2019 PCWorld 45press event, but using
already-deployed 5G
infrastructure nodes—kind
of blew me away.
Here are some real-
world stats to help you
wrap your brain around
the promise of gig-plus
download speeds:
- I downloaded The
Hateful Eight (2 hours, 47
minutes) from Netflix in 10
seconds. - The first episode of
Stranger Things Season 3
in 4K downloaded in 6.28
seconds. - The movie Next Gen (1 hour, 47 minutes)
downloaded in 11 seconds. - PUBG Mobile (2GB) downloaded
through the Galaxy Store in 47 seconds. - With every test I ran, the same
download over LTE had barely begun by the
time the 5G download was finished. - Upload speeds were also impressive,
topping off at around 50Mbps, faster than the
speeds I get with my Comcast Gigabit service.
So it’s safe to say that the promise of 5G is
real. I was actually walking the streets using
actual Verizon nodes sending actual 5G signals.
I also experienced the actual frustrations
that these early 5G buildouts will bring for
anyone who drops an extra $200 on the
Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.
SMALL NETWORK,
BIG POTENTIAL
Verizon is the first to admit that it’s doing 5G
the hard way. Instead of focusing on sub-
6GHz spectrum, Verizon is starting with
millimeter wave spectrum (mmWave), a
slower process that requires the installation of
carefully positioned mini towers—basically
building a brand-new network. That presents
all sorts of problems to solve—the least of
which involves regulatory approval from each
city—but it has the biggest payoff, as
evidenced by the speeds I was able to get.
In Providence, the three-tower nodes are
centralized on telephone poles along
College Hill, a bustling area with low-lying
buildings and a straight thoroughfareThose three towers on the top of the this telephone pole deliver the 5G
signal for a few blocks.