Verizon announced today that customers can now access the company’s 5G Ultra Wideband network in parts of Boston, Mass., Houston, Tex. and Sioux Falls, S.D.
With the additional cities, Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service is now available in 18 markets.
The service is only available in select portions of those cities. In Boston, 5G Ultra Wideband service will be concentrated in the following areas: Fenway Park, along Brookline Avenue near Beth Israel Hospital and around such landmarks as Emmanuel College, Northeastern University, Simmons College, and Harvard Medical School.
Other cities with the 5G service are Dallas, Omaha, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Providence, St. Paul, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Phoenix, Boise, Panama City and New York City. The carrier says it plans to have 5G access in more than 30 cities by the end of this year.
Among cities to receive service before 2020 are Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Des Moines, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, San Diego and Salt Lake City.
“From investing in Boston’s Digital Equity Fund to bringing Fios internet and cable to every neighborhood, Verizon has been a strong partner to Boston,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, in a prepared statement. “I’m pleased to see Verizon expanding their 5G network in Boston, and look forward to their continued investment in our city.”
“We are building our 5G Ultra Wideband network to support the type of transformative breakthroughs people imagine when they think of next-generation connectivity, and we’re working to build those services with leaders in manufacturing, publishing and entertainment, and in our 5G Labs,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer, in a prepared statement. “Bringing 5G mobility services to customers in Boston, Houston, and Sioux Falls is just one more step in Verizon’s strategy to build 5G right.”
Verizon has also come out with new 5G coverage maps that indicate where these "select portions" are in these launched cities. They are sidewalks and streets, with no coverage indoors at all. This only furthers the notion that millimeter-wave 5G is a virtually useless technology on any sort of wide-scale basis.
Yes, people do use their cellphones in cars and while walking down the sidewalk (at their own peril it must be noted), but to have no way of getting that signal inside of buildings, homes, offices, stores, coffee shops, restaurants, etc pretty much negates any real benefits. The fact that neither Verizon nor AT&T has announced that any 5G deployments on more useful, lower-frequency spectrum are in the offing is quite concerning about the long-term viability of the service.