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During a speech at IBM’s Think 2018 conference, Verizon CEO, Lowell McAdam, has claimed that once 5G networks are deployed in full-force, mobile phones will only need to be charged every four weeks, as well as provide ten years of battery life for IoT products. Mr.McAdam spoke of the drastically superior speeds that will be available with the next major jump in mobile internet bandwidth as well as significantly reduced latency. The idea is for hardware-end computation to be parlayed onto the mobile network itself, which in turn will allow devices to not only be thinner than ever but have exponentially resplendent battery life. One analyst, Geoff Blaber of CCS Insight, said that this is “by far the most optimistic” prediction yet for 5G and that it may be “setting worryingly lofty expectations”.
Verizon Wireless is aggressively seeking to deploy a commercial 5G rollout this year and intends to be the first telecom to do so, according to the company’s executive director of device technology, Chris Schmidt, who made the comment during MWC last month. The rollout, which is expected to make use of the company’s own 5G Technical Forum (5GTF) infrastructure, is also expected to be fully compatible with 3GPP 5G NR standards. Sacramento, California is currently being targeted as the first area to receive the new network, with Verizon planning anywhere between three to five other locations this year with more specifics to be announced when details are finalized. Ultimately, however, Mr. Schmidt had mentioned the timing itself would be wholly dependant on when microchip manufacturers themselves can release hardware that makes use of 5G infrastructure.
While 5G dreams may be big business, the reality is often not as picturesque as planned. For starters, once 5G deployment begins, it could take years before the new network becomes a national norm. Regarding the idea of one month of battery life, for example, the issue must be raised that if, for example, Samsung were to make a sliver-thin smartphone that requires a mature, always-active 5G connection to handle CPU load, there would be problems should that device be operating on Airplane mode, on 3G, or even on 4G. Still, CEO McAdam has very ambitious intentions for his company’s future, and clearly, Verizon aims to make them a reality as soon as possible.