In its quest to bring 5G to the nation, Verizon on Wednesday activated its 5G Ultra Wideband service to select areas of Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C., bringing the number of U.S. cities with access to the speedy mobile network up to nine.
The wireless carrier announced the expansion, stating that business customers and general consumers can access the 5G network with a lineup of five devices.
Verizon stated that its list of supported devices for its 5G network access had expanded from the Motorola Z3 smartphone with separate 5G moto mod to support for models from LG, Samsung, and Inseego. Customers can now select the LG V50 ThinQ 5G, Moto Z3 or Z4 with 5G moto mod, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G or Inseego MiFi M1000, the latter being a mobile 5G hotspot.
Coverage in Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., is limited to highly populated areas such as parks, museums, college campuses and other public spaces, Verizon said. The company intends to expand coverage beyond those areas in the coming months.
Verizon first announced plans for its 5G service in February, promising customers in 30 U.S. cities would gain access to the network by the end of 2019. The company rolled out 5G Ultra Wideband in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Providence and St. Paul earlier this year and is working to debut the technology in Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Houston, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, San Diego and Salt Lake City.
Apple is currently rumored to offer 5G in its devices come 2020 after settling a legal dispute with cellular modem supplier Qualcomm in April. The company is expected to use Qualcomm’s baseband chip for its iPhone and iPad in the near term, but could begin creating its own 5G baseband chips in the next couple of years.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Verizon