AT&T is planning to launch its 5G wireless service in the US and are making preparations for trails in Austin by the end of 2016. The US telecom carrier has also filed various patents in technologies such as millimeter waves, network function virtualization (NFV), and software-defined networking (SDN) that could be used for its 5G network.

In their official blog, AT&T says that it is planning on working with Ericsson and Intel on 5G solutions in the second quarter of this year, with outdoor tests and trials over the summer. The company is expecting to provide 5G wireless connectivity to fixed locations in Austin before the end of this year with an estimated speed of 10-100 times faster than today’s average 4G LTE connections.

We plan to collaborate with Ericsson and Intel to work on 5G solutions in our labs starting in the second quarter of this year, with outdoor tests and trials over the summer. And, we expect field trials of 5G technologies to provide wireless connectivity to fixed locations in Austin before the end of this year. The trials will help guide our 5G standards contributions, and set the stage for widespread commercial and mobile availability once technology standards for 5G are established.

With 5G wireless, network speed will be measured in gigabits instead of megabits and will allows users to download TV shows in less than 3 seconds. In addition, users will see a low latency in the range of 1-5 milliseconds. AT&T believes that 5G deployment in US will provide new experiences to users in the form of virtual reality, self-driving cars, robotics, smart cities and more.

While it is interesting to see a major telecom provider testing 5G network, we also want to point out that widespread access for AT&T’s 5G network across the country is still several years away.

Source: AT&T