Leading U.S. carriers – like AT&T in Las Vegas and T-Mobile in NYC – are beginning to launch 5G in parts of the country. But is 5G ready for prime time?
Not yet.
Joanna Stern, a Wall Street Journal reporter, decided to test out the technology for an article.
With her new $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in tow (one of the first 5G phones), she embarked on a multi-city on 5G review tour.
She hit Denver, Atlanta, Chicago and Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
However, her findings may not comfort you.
Verizon rolls out 5G hotspot; no word yet on faster speeds for Triangle, Charlotte
“After nearly 120 tests, more than 12 city miles walked and a couple of big blisters,” she wrote. “5G is absolutely not ready for you.”
Check out the video report as well online.
But it came with a caveat: “Like any brand new network technology, it provides a glimpse of the future.”
AT&T is trialing 5G in the Triangle.
And Verizon is rolling out 5G in 30 metro areas this year.
Lenovo also is entered in the 5G competition with smartphones from its Motorola business group.
Fierce competitors Verizon, AT&T team up to build 5G infrastructure
The fifth generation of cellular networking, 5G is designed to replace 4G and bring faster speed times.
But as Stern discovered, it wasn’t always reliable, especially in the summer heat.
“When I ran tests, the phone’s 5G often switched off due to overheating, leaving me with a 4G connection. Cellular carriers demo-ing or testing the phone have taken to cooling the devices with ice packs and air conditioners.”
