Verizon today said it had successfully completed 5G roaming trials, and is believed to be the first carrier to do so. With the Verizon 5G global roaming trials now complete, the carrier has a commercially ready 5G global roaming service, providing service for U.S. customers when they travel to South Korea.
The carrier said it is preparing for similar trials with other companies. Using a prototype device with dual frequencies, Verizon conducted the trials on a live production 5G network in South Korea.
Verizon uses the mmWave spectrum in the U.S. for 5G service but relied on 3.5 GHz spectrum in Korea. According to Verizon, average trial speeds were 252 Mbps down and 119 Mbps up.
“As 5G matures, the global implications are enormous,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon chief technology officer, in a prepared statement about Verizon 5G global roaming. “From global manufacturing and supply chain, to international AR/VR experiences, the globalization of 5G has huge implications across countless industries for consumers and enterprises. Imagine being able to get the best medical treatment from anywhere in the world through telemedicine, shop in the finest boutiques in Italy through augmented reality, play against the champions in online gaming anywhere in the world, or manage manufacturing operations across continents in real time remotely. Our team is leading the way to make those possibilities a reality and this is an important first step.”
Verizon noted that is a founding member of the 5G Future Forum, a group of telecom providers seeking to develop 5G interoperability specifications to accelerate the delivery of 5G and mobile edge compute solutions worldwide. The Forum is planning to release its first technical specifications to members in the third quarter of this year.
Globally, Verizon has been crowned as the 5G speed king, according to Opensignal’s most recent 5G User Experience Report.
