Verizon is delaying its home 5G internet rollout again
It's waiting for more powerful equipment before expanding the network.
You might have to wait a bit longer before using a 5G network for your home internet service. Verizon (Engadget's parent company) is pushing back the broader rollout of 5G Home. It's waiting for new, more powerful equipment that's said to become available in the second half of 2020 before expanding the service beyond its current five cities.
The equipment for which Verizon's biding its time will be able to receive 5G signals from transmitters that are much further away than current gear and routers can connect to, executive Ronan Dunne said (as reported by Light Reading). Once those devices are available, Verizon will be able to significantly expand the 5G Home coverage area. The current equipment uses a standard smartphone chipset, and "the footprint is significantly smaller," Dunne said. Verizon aims to cover 30 million US households with 5G Home service in the next five to seven years, he noted.
It's actually not the first time Verizon has delayed the expansion of the 5G Home network. It did so last January for similar reasons. Verizon's 5G Home service debuted in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento in October 2018. It flipped the switch on the network in Chicago late last year. The 5G Home network is different from the 5G mobile network.
