Verizon put out a lot of effort in becoming the first telecom in the world to launch a commercial 5G network on April 3rd. Just hours before the South Korean carriers launched on the 4th, Verizon had date stamped their launch on April the 3rd.
Troubles are abound as is wont to happen with new technology launch. The issues are that signal can only be received in a few parts of the two launch cities of Chicago and Minneapolis. Additionally, it would only operate with a specific phone, the Motorola Z3, working with a custom-add on pack which would enable it to connect to 5G and give it the extra battery power needed to do so. Even with these conditions, the signal is still apparently quite unreliable, and the power consumption is extremely high.
So far then, Verizon’s launch network is quite unusable for almost all users. Things are expected to get better with the launch of new flagship 5G phones such as Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G edition. Additionally, Verizon has said that many of these early issues will be solved, along with an upgrade in speed from 450mbps to over 1gbps when the technology is improved by the end of the year and in the near-future.
Right now, telecom providers are far from delivering on the promises of 5G. However, these projects can also be seen as experimental learning experiences allowing companies racing ahead to refine the technological systems underlying these new networks.
There is the issue though that this race will lead to compromises in cybersecurity standards of what will in the future become strategically and infrastructurally important systems.
To learn more about the security and privacy issues coming up with 5G feel free to read our article: http://5g.security/5g-security/5g-cybersecurity-privacy-challenges/
More info here: https://www.verizon.com/5g/
Marin Ivezic
For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.
He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.
