AT&T and Verizon today issued dueling press releases about plans for San Jose, California. AT&T, Verizon San Jose plans both involve 5G, small cells and the smart city, with AT&T emphasizing the 5G side and Verizon emphasizing the smart city.
The dueling press releases illustrate how positively carriers view the opportunities in high-tech affluent cities such as San Jose and how such cities can leverage carrier competitiveness to enhance the quality of life for their residents.
AT&T, Verizon San Jose Plans
AT&T noted today that it expects to introduce mobile 5G services in San Jose in the first half of 2019 – making the city one of the first — after Dallas, Atlanta and Waco – to be targeted to receive mobile 5G services.
The carrier also said it plans to engage in a pilot with San Jose to trial “a multitude” of AT&T smart city offerings. According to AT&T these “may include” LED smart lighting, public Wi-Fi, AT&T Digital Infrastructure and structure monitoring.
The AT&T press release also referenced a previous “strategic collaboration” with San Jose announced in April involving small cells, as well as AT&T’s existing AT&T Fiber ultra-fast internet service already offered in the city.
Verizon’s press release is a bit more definitive with regard to the smart city. The carrier noted that it has “agreed to terms” with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo on a deal to provide three smart city solutions including solutions focused on intersection safety, traffic data and parking space management. In addition, Verizon plans to fund the provision of Verizon Connect services to the city’s vehicle fleet and to invest in the city’s Digital Inclusion Fund.
Verizon stopped short of announcing any specific 5G plans for San Jose. Instead the carrier said it will deploy fiber and install small cells in San Jose to enhance LTE and noted that its investments will “lay the groundwork for the eventual introduction of 5G services.”
According to today’s press release, the San Jose city council will review the terms of the agreement with Verizon at a meeting later this month.
Image courtesy of flickr user FutUndBeidl.
