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Verizon has announced at CES 2022 that it will be rolling out 5G Ultra Wideband to more than 100 million people in the US, before the end of January. But the trick here is that it is not mmWave.
Instead, Verizon is rolling out C-Band, which is basically mid-band spectrum. It’s going to be what makes 5G truly fast for everyone. We already have the massive coverage thanks to 600MHz and 700MHz spectrum, and then the massive speed boost that mmWave supports. Now with C-Band, it’s going to tie it all together, and provide you with incredible speed and coverage.
T-Mobile likes to call it the “5G Cake”, which is pretty accurate, but Verizon is not taking that approach. In fact, it does not even mention C-Band in its press release. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as most people aren’t going to know that there is three different bands working on the 5G network that they are using. Similar to how a lot of smartphone makers don’t list out specs in their presentations anymore.
“This massive launch will put incredible speeds, reliability, and security in the hands of our customers and amplifies our offering of reliable home and business broadband options to more places around the country, well ahead of the commitment we made last year,” said Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon. “As 5G Ultra Wideband becomes available to more and more people and businesses, it will allow our customers to do more amazing things.”
How can you take advantage of these speeds?
First up, you’ll need a phone that is compatible with C-Band. Luckily, a lot of phones released in the past year or two already have C-Band support available. So it shouldn’t take more than just a software update to make it happen. Phones like the Google Pixel 5 & 6 series, the Galaxy S21 series and many more that are sold by Verizon will have C-Band support.
With the addition of C-Band, you’re going to get those crazy gigabit speeds that mmWave offers, without being outside and without the wind knocking you off of the network.
With this announcement, Verizon did state that it will be changing its service plans on January 5. But so far, it has not mentioned anything about those changes, other than the fact they are happening.