Yesterday, Verizon sent us a press release detailing a few new developments around its 5G network efforts. Tucked between more mundane news that it flipped the 5G switch in San Diego and signed up technology partners for the future of its Ultra Wideband network, was the fact that Verizon is now switching all of its uploads in the respective coverage areas from 4G LTE to 5G speeds.
Here are Verizon's 5G news and developments in a nutshell:
A new virtual lab to speed 5G application development
San Diego will be the 35th 5G Ultra Wideband city on 5/28
5G uploads are now available in all markets
Added 5G ecosystem partners to help extend the reach of mmWave
It took a while, but instead of the meager 20MHz spectrum dedicated to uploads, Verizon quintupled that to use 100MHz of millimeter-wave 5G bands for uploads. The resulting speed boost would be a godsend for video uploaders, and anyone who has to take part in giant teleconferencing sessions on Zoom.
Speaking of remote work, Verizon charted the increase in upload demands against the pre-coronavirus data, and came out with a giant 12x spike in uplink data, while Comcast's home broadband also noted a significant lockdown-induced uptick.
Verizon's move to 5G upload speeds on its mmWave network has been analyzed by the industry insider Sascha Segan from PCMag, and they noted a significant increase in speeds in the 5G/5G mode, compared to the days when uploads were on 4G LTE.
Verizon 4G/5G upload speeds
Compare these to T-Mobile's upload speeds on its current low-band, long reach 5G network that barely beat what Verizon can pull off with 4G LTE uploads.
T-Mobile 5G upload speeds
The difference is rather significant, yet you are only able to get those rapid uploads in places where Verizon has mmWave 5G coverage, and those are few and far between still, not to mention that the fast signal's weakness is building penetration while low bands can reach much farther.
Overall, Verizon's 5G may be fast, but you are barely on it, while most of T-Mobile's 5G is available much more often but its mean speeds are actually what Verizon can pull off with its 4G network. Hopefully, when the iPhone 12 5G model is here, the carriers will have a much larger incentive to provide the goods, given that more than half of their subscribers are rocking iPhones.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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