The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G launched in the U.S. yesterday and devices clocked in speeds above 1 Gbps on Verizon’s millimeter wave 5G network in Chicago during real-world speed tests.
CNET tech journalist Jessica Dolcourt wrote that her experience with Verizon’s 5G network in Chicago on Wednesday was “night and day” compared to similar tests run there six weeks ago that were somewhat disappointing.
Download speeds ranged from 400 Mbps to peaks of more than 1 Gbps, though most noted that coverage is still very limited within areas of the city, with speeds dropping when not in line of sight of a 5G node and indoor coverage “basically nonexistent”, according to the Verge.
It should also be noted that it’s still the early days, so there is not a high density of users or devices putting stress or causing congestion on the 5G network.
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, speaking Thursday at the JPMorgan Global Technology Media and Communications Conference, touted the fast speeds and the form factor of the Galaxy S10 5G, which is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and exclusive to Verizon for a limited time.
“What is exciting about it is that if you’ve been around on 3G in 4G, the first phones are usually very clunky, not user friendly. This is the best 4G phone that Samsung ever have done, and it has 5G inside of it,” said Vestberg, according to a transcript of the event. “We had 1.5 gigabit per second on the phone this morning in Chicago.”
Vestberg reiterated Verizon’s plans to expand 5G service to 30 more cities, in addition to Minneapolis and Chicago, this year, using the carrier’s 1,000 megahertz of millimeter wave spectrum.
While he acknowledged that Verizon is first building in dense urban areas where the most data usage is, in the next few years Vestberg expects “the majority” of Verizon’s coverage map and consumers will have 5G service.
Ultimately, he said, all spectrum will be considered 5G. Vestberg pointed to dynamic spectrum sharing (a technology he also mentioned on Verizon’s quarterly earnings call in April), which doesn’t require operators to dedicate spectrum to a specific technology, but rather dynamically share across.
“It is 4G and 5G, 3G. It doesn’t matter. It will dynamically change whatever phone you have. That’s a very important feature coming into the network next year,” Vestberg said.
Vestberg also discussed Verizon’s large fiber build, which is happening in 60 markets and also provides underlying support for the wireless network.
“We build rings, we’re not building point to point,” said Vestberg. “And that’s a big difference from an architectural point of view because if you build rings, of course you can serve so much more and you can monetize that assets even better.”