HOUSTON – Verizon announced on Tuesday plans to launch 5G technology in Houston starting in the second half of 2018.
Houston is the third city Verizon identified as part of its four market 5G deployment plan, which will deliver residential 5G broadband service. Verizon previously announced Sacramento and Los Angeles.
Verizon says it has a long-standing relationship with the city of Houston, area first responders and residents, and this initial 5G deployment is supported by both state and local officials, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Mayor Turner calls the arrival of 5G “a game-changer” that will boost business in Houston and attract new jobs.
“We’re delighted to be one of the first cities to bring 5G to our local communities and look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Verizon," said Mayor Turner.
Among the areas served by Verizon 5G will be the five traditionally under-resourced neighborhoods in the pilot phase of the mayor's "Complete Communities" program aimed at providing city services on an equitable basis.
Some tech experts warn more cell towers will be needed to create the same level of coverage as before. However, Verizon officials say CenterPoint Energy is helping them replace and upgrade existing poles with the new technology.
“We’ll never promise that there won’t be new poles that show up, but our goal is not to put a lot of new poles,” said Krista Bourne, Market President, South Central Market-Wireless with Verizon. “Right now, there’s a lot of infrastructure that we can simply update and take advantage of.”
Mayor Turner’s staff told KHOU much of the needed infrastructure, mainly underground fiber optic cable, is already in place. Mayor Turner said that process started in 2017 while the city and CenterPoint have been helping streamline the process.
“Our plan is to work with the city,” Bourne said. “So as the city is designing some of their road repairs that they have to do, some of the work they’re doing as part of the natural course of the business here in the city, we’ll get involved so that we are less disruptive.”
Bourne says Verizon will launch 5G in the fall with in-home WiFi, which non-Verizon phones will be able to hook up to, expanding coverage through 2019 while adding 5G data plans for smartphones and tablets during the second half of 2019.
Jeannine Brew, a Verizon spokesperson for Texas, said Tuesday the company is still figuring out pricing and will announce that information and locations available “in the coming weeks."
Guillermo Salinas, the company’s Network System Performance Director for Houston, expects service will start around central Houston, then build outward to include suburbs and outlying areas.
What does 5G mean for me?
CNET reports consumers won't see any real benefits of these deployments until 2019 when the first 5G-capable smartphones hit the market. When you have a 5G smartphone and 5G service, you'll enjoy speeds about 1,000 times faster than the current 4G offerings. But CNET notes it's not just about speed on your phone: "The combination of speed, responsiveness and reach could unlock the full capabilities of other hot trends in technology, offering a boost to self-driving cars, drones, virtual reality and the internet of things."
Technologies that will benefit from 5G include:
- Remote surgery
- A "touchy-feely internet" says CNET with haptic feedback (e.g. vibrations while watching an action movie)
- Self-driving cars sharing and receiving real-time data
- Drones
- Virtual reality
- Home broadband Internet (no longer stuck with whoever serves your home or apartment)