Imagine using your phone to do just about anything with just about no delays ever. That dream could become a reality for certain cellular customers by the end of 2018. AT&T recently announced three cities would have access to its 5G service by the end of 2018 and promised that an additional nine cities would join Dallas and Waco, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, on the list this year. By mid-2019, AT&T predicted it would have launched 5G in 82 cities around the country. Verizon also is launching its 5G network, rolling out the initial offering in Sacramento, California, and already testing in Texas, Oregon, and New Jersey.
5G networks promise seamless, real-time streaming, video chats so real you might feel as if you could literally reach out and touch the other person in the conversation, and highly responsive components in your personal “internet of things” (IoT), which include fitness trackers and smart-home appliances. Gizmodo describes going from 4G to 5G as “upgrading your data connection from a garden hose to a fire hose.”
In the immediate future, the benefits of living in a 5G city will be relatively limited in terms of that high-speed connection. Even though some cities will have the network in place by the end of this year, there are no devices currently available to run on it. AT&T insists it will have 5G-compatible devices ready for market later this year and in early 2019, but at present, your current device cannot access 5G technology. Once the devices and the network are both available, however, it remains to be seen how such high-speed internet will affect where people want to work and live.
Investor Insight:
The availability of a 5G network could affect businesses’ decisions on where to set up headquarters and how attractive a local housing market is to young, professional buyers.
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