VZ - Verizon and Boingo Team Up to Extend 5G Coverage
With the race to launch next-gen 5G mobile networks in the U.S. heating up, current network leader Verizon (NYSE: VZ) announced a new partnership with wi-fi specialist Boingo Wireless (NASDAQ: WIFI). Verizon simultaneously announced 5G was going live in Phoenix, its 10th of 30 planned 5G market launches in 2019. The company also said that Samsung's Galaxy 10+ 5G was available for purchase.
These are all positive signs that faster networks are indeed coming soon, but the Boingo announcement was by far the most important of the three tandem press releases -- at least from my viewpoint as an armchair wireless network student.
The next evolution of wireless communications networks holds a lot of promise. 5G will enable more than just faster download times -- it can accurately and reliably connect more devices, and the latency (the time it takes data to travel between two points) is also much lower. These improved abilities could be the key to opening and enabling new use cases for smart cities, connected business operations, and ultra-high-definition video and gaming, not to mention yet-to-be-invented ideas.