The buzzword in mobile is 5G—the newest generation of wireless service that promises more speed and better connectivity for smartphones, internet-connected devices and even autonomous cars.
By Anthony Schoettle Indianapolis Business Journal
INDIANAPOLIS — The latest buzzword in mobile is 5G — the newest generation of wireless service that immediately promises more speed and better connectivity for smartphones, internet-connected devices and even autonomous cars.
But 5G is about more than speed. Experts call it a transformational technology that could eventually mean unprecedented battery life for devices (think a month before charging your smartphone) and lag times shorter than the blink of an eye, making videoconferencing as good as broadcast TV.
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And nowhere in the country will 5G be more available than it will be soon in Indianapolis, where both Verizon and AT&T — which have the nation’s two largest wireless networks — are rolling out the technology by year’s end. Verizon, however, is phasing in 5G — starting with residential wireless before expanding to mobile.
“Not only from a technological standpoint, but from a public relations perspective, this is a really big deal,” said David Love, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University.
“It tells you that Indianapolis is being mentioned in the same breath as Austin, the Bay Area and other tech epicenters,” he said. “This is enormously important for the city of Indianapolis and the state.”
In fact, Houston is the only other city in the country that will have 5G service from AT&T and Verizon this year.
Love said the early rollouts will help the metro area recruit talent and new business — especially in the tech sector. “People and businesses definitely take notice of these types of developments,” Love said. “It’s big news.”
The G in 5G stands for generation — as in generation of wireless technology. And with each generation, new capabilities have emerged. In the 1980s, the first generation allowed mobile phone calls for the first time without a rare and expensive satellite phone. In the 1990s, 2G allowed text messages. In 2000, 3G allowed voice, text messaging and email as well as some web browsing and apps. In 2010, 4G allowed video on mobile and other devices — which gave rise to the popularity of services such as YouTube.
“The others were evolutions. We think 5G is a revolution,” said John Granby, Verizon’s president of Great Lakes Market. “It’s going to enable all kinds of new enterprises — some not even imagined yet.”
Cooperation
Officials at AT&T and Verizon say it wasn’t a hard decision to bring the technology to Indianapolis, thanks in part to the attitudes of local and state officials.
“Policymakers in Indiana have been working on reform to make this possible for more than a decade,” said AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards. “Indiana has the right policies in place and the cooperation of various government agencies has been extremely helpful in bringing this new technology to market.”
State lawmakers even penned legislation this spring limiting municipalities’ ability to stifle the infrastructure needed for 5G service.
The groundwork for 5G was laid in 2014 when then-Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann formed the Indiana Rural Broadband Working Group, said state Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis. The Legislature also passed measures in recent years to make wireless service more available statewide and to grease the skids for evolving technology.
Huge investment
The concept behind 5G is that small cells that are closer together and closer to users result in faster and more reliable service.
But the investment is huge, which means wireless companies are choosy about where they’re spending their initial outlays.
Verizon works with the IndyCar Series, where it’s a title sponsor, and at Lucas Oil Stadium, where it was a key wireless provider during the 2012 Super Bowl. Those experiences helped Verizon executives become familiar with local government officials and their willingness to get things done for businesses.
That has given the company the confidence to invest $932 million in this market since 2015, Granby said, which helped pave the way for 5G.
“The infrastructure in Indianapolis is world-class,” he said. “That has given rise to a burgeoning tech ecosystem. And that coupled with the way government bodies work with businesses and each other made this the right place to make this investment.”
AT&T has invested $425 million in Indianapolis and $1.4 billion in Indiana since 2015, according to company officials.
The advantage, tech experts said, of getting 5G this year from two major providers goes beyond just optics.
While AT&T and Verizon, along with a handful of other providers, will begin rolling out 5G in earnest next year, blanketing the entire country could take many years.
“Each generation — whether 2G, 3G or 4G—has taken a decade to roll out,” said Indiana IoT Lab founder John Wechsler. “Indianapolis will be getting 5G in a matter of months. There are some markets — major markets — that won’t have 5G for a number of years and maybe quite a few years. So the advantage here is real.”
AT&T earlier this year announced that 12 cities will get its 5G mobile service this year.
Verizon announced only four cities — Los Angeles, Houston, Sacramento and Indianapolis — will get its stationary 5G residential service this year.
Tech experts said Verizon will no doubt hurry to get its 5G for mobile users deployed — like AT&T has — and Indianapolis will likely be an early market.
Really?
Speaking at IBM’s Think 2018 Conference this spring, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam dropped this bomb: “By the way, in an IoT setting, 5G will have 10-year battery life. And we expect that, in a mobile phone environment, you’ll probably charge your phone once a month.”
That’s right. McAdam said a cell phone that now needs a charge every 24 hours would need a charge every 30 days in a 5G world. And he added that devices connecting via 5G could be ridiculously thin.
Capacity frustrations could also soon be a thing of the past.
What does that mean? It goes way beyond relief from family members crowding one another off the home network.
At home, 5G will let you connect your smartphone, wireless thermostat, video game console, smart doorknobs, virtual-reality headset, wireless security cameras, tablet and laptop all to the same router without worrying about overload.
In commercial applications, 5G opens the airways for more internet-enabled tech like smart traffic lights, wireless sensors, mobile wearables, and car-to-car communication.
“5G will have an immediate impact here,” Wechsler said. “Not only will it enhance life for our residents, but it will provide a great opportunity for innovation here. This type of early development assures that we’re not just consumers of a new technology, but that w’re a player in this realm, and that helps build a thriving tech ecosystem.”
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Only Indianapolis and Houston are getting 5G service this year from both AT&T and Verizon. Wireless experts said state legislation paved the path; here’s how it came to pass in Indy.
2014: Under then-Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, the bipartisan Indiana Rural Broadband Working Group forms to explore the future of wireless statewide.
2015: General Assembly streamlines the process for permitting wireless facilities at the local-government level, to broaden the spread of wireless broadband.
May 2017: Legislature speeds up deployment of small cells — low-power data-access nodes that are critical to 5G mobile technology.
July 2017: AT&T launches 5G Evolution in parts of Indianapolis. It provides faster wireless transmission and a taste of true 5G. AT&T works with the city to ensure AT&T’s network and infrastructure are ready to support 5G.
November 2017: AT&T deploys Commercial LTE-Licensed Assisted Access technology, which increases the speed and capacity of data transmission, in parts of downtown.
January 2018: AT&T says it expects to be the first U.S. company to introduce mobile 5G service — as opposed to access only in stationary locations — in a dozen markets by the end of the year.
March 2018: Gov. Eric Holcomb signs House Bill 1050, which limits the scope of a municipality’s underground and buried utility district to deny applications for small cell antennas and poles. Cities and towns took a neutral position on the bill’s language.
August 2018: AT&T announces Indianapolis as the seventh city where it expects to launch mobile 5G service by the end of the year. Verizon announces Indianapolis is one of four U.S. cities getting 5G home internet service, starting in October.
September 2018: Verizon launches FirstOn5G.com, so consumers can check if 5G service is available for their home.
Sources: AT&T, Verizon, IBJ research
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Here’s how the advanced wireless technology should make a difference.
Speed
With speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second, 5G will be at least 20 times faster than 4G, maybe much more so.
Wireless experts said it’s possible that a movie that downloads in 10 minutes with 4G can be had in as little as 10 seconds with 5G. Data transmission will be so fast that 5G might provide glitch-free real-time communication for events that run the gamut from videoconferencing to remotely operated robotic surgery.
Efficiency, quality
Improves data-transmission efficiency and connection quality, especially in dense urban environments, for applications ranging from high-performance mobile devices to ultra-low-power internet-connected watches.
Reliability
Gives you a connection you can count on, by taking advantage of radio access networks in a way that enables service providers to process data on their own centralized networks or through localized data centers. "Hello, hello. Can you hear me now?" should become a thing of the past. Bonus: With all that computing happening in the cloud instead of on personal devices, battery life should last much longer.
Customization
Can differentiate between fixed and mobile devices, identify each device’s capability and local reception environment, then locate and offer the most appropriate data-delivery channel.
Capacity
At home, 5G will let you connect your smartphone, wireless thermostat, video game console, smart doorknobs, virtual-reality headset, wireless security cameras, tablet and laptop all to the same router without worrying about overload. In commercial applications, 5G opens the airways for more internet-enabled tech like smart traffic lights, wireless sensors, mobile wearables, and car-to-car communication.
Sources: Lifewire, MediaTek, IBJ research
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