A Verizon Boingo deal announced today aims to bring Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband coverage indoors, thereby extending the range of the service, which operates in the millimeter wave spectrum band. In addition, Verizon said it will launch 5G Ultra Wideband service in Phoenix tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, Verizon will begin selling all three new Galaxy Note10 smartphones, including the Galaxy Note10+ 5G model.
Phoenix will be the tenth market in which Verizon has launched mobile 5G service. As with previous Verizon mobile 5G launches, coverage areas will be limited. The company noted in today’s press release that service will be concentrated “around several well-known landmarks” such as the Phoenix Convention Center and Chase Field. It will also be available on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. The service will fall back on LTE where 5G is not available.
Verizon Boingo Deal
Verizon 5G deployments to date have been in the millimeter wave band, which can support the highest speeds but over relatively short distances. Signals in that band have difficulty penetrating walls, so it’s not surprising to see Verizon making a deal with Boingo to address that drawback.
Boingo specializes in distributed antenna systems (DAS), small cells and Wi-Fi. According to today’s press release, Verizon and Boingo will work together to “architect a hyper-dense network designed for large and small indoor spaces as part of Verizon’s ongoing 5G network expansions.”
Boingo has seen strong sales lately as mobile carriers deploy increasingly dense network infrastructure to support increased traffic loads. The second quarter of 2019 was the company’s biggest quarter ever for new DAS venue launches.
Samsung Galaxy Note10
The three new Samsung Galaxy Note10 smartphones that Verizon will begin offering tomorrow include:
- Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G ($1,299 or $36.11 per month for 36 months)
- Samsung Galaxy Note10+ ($1,099 or $45.83 a month for 24 months)
- Samsung Galaxy Note10 ($949.99 or $39.58 a month for 24 months)
Verizon said the Galaxy Note10+ 5G is “available first on Verizon” but didn’t say how long that temporary exclusive would last.
The Galaxy Note10+ 5G joins several other 5G devices already available for use on the Verizon 5G network, including devices from Motorola and LG, as well as another Samsung offering.
