Verizon to test 5G in 11 US cities in 2017, Samsung to help

After AT&T announced its 5G Evolution network, we knew it was only a matter of time before its wireless rivals chimed in with their own plans. It seems that Verizon is now up to the plate.

In partnership with Samsung, Big Red is nearly ready to pilot test its new gigabit-class wireless service in 11 cities. According to Samsung, the first markets to offer fixed 5G wireless will be New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington, D.C., with a fifth location in Michigan starting trials later in Q2 2017. The remaining cities will probably be rolled out sometime shortly after that. Verizon says that the entire network should be up and running by the middle of the year.

Keep in mind this is a “pre-commercial” network service that will only be offered to select consumers in the 11 chosen cities. It is hard to say how long this pilot will go on before it becomes commercially available, though its very possible that they could launch it to more consumers by the year’s end.

It’s hard to believe that we are already nearing the age of 5G, a standard that seemed like a fairy tale concept not that terribly long ago. Of course, networks like Verizon’s 5G and AT&T’s 5G Evolution aren’t quite ‘real 5G’ at this stage, especially since no formal standard has yet to be announced. Still, we’ve come a long way and AT&T and Verizon’s latest moves bring us just one more step closer.