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AT&T starts testing 5G wireless with Intel in Austin
Verizon may have beat AT&T to the punch, but no matter -- the second-biggest US carrier has started testing 5G wireless technology that promises to bring gigabit bandwidth to our mobile devices in the coming years. In a blog post, AT&T says that it is taking the 5G bandwidth tests it was making in labs out into the field, with Intel and Ericsson serving as partners in this venture. Like Verizon, AT&T is using millimeter wave technology; in this case, the 5G technology is working inside of one of Intel's Austin offices.
EVs, 5G and fintech: How the Autumn Statement affects UK tech
Another Autumn Statement, another set of promises that may or may not improve the lives of British citizens. Amongst the usual tax and welfare modifications, chancellor Philip Hammond announced some new policies that will affect the technology, science and transport industries. Most of them are bundled in the new National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF), a long-term project designed to make the public more efficient in the workplace, improving the UK economy and people's work-life balance in the process. In total, the government says it will spend an extra £23 billion through the fund, starting in 2017/18 and ending in 2021/22.
Qualcomm-powered 5G devices may arrive in first half of 2018
As we saw back at MWC, 5G trials are already well under way around the world, and such efforts are recently boosted with support from the FCC plus the EU. Verizon has stated that it's aiming to implement 5G at some point in 2017, but today, a mobile chip giant has given us a more specific time frame. At the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, the company announced its very first 5G modem, the Snapdragon X50, which will support download speeds at up to 5 Gbps -- a super impressive number considering that we've only just started tapping into the Gigabit space with 4G LTE, let alone the more common 450 Mbps, 300 Mbps or even just 150 Mbps download speeds on our phones these days.
EU digital rules promise 5G, free WiFi and tougher copyright
The European Union isn't done stepping up its digital initiatives. Officials have outlined proposed policies that are focused on dramatically increasing access to both the internet and the content you'll find on it. Most of the proposals will be helpful, although not everyone is a fan -- there are copyright changes that are rubbing Google the wrong way.
FCC hopes to speed up 5G rollouts by cutting red tape
The FCC really, really wants to get the ball rolling on 5G mobile networks, and it's willing to make an end run around some of the usual bureaucracy to make that happen. The Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has struck a deal that will skip historic preservation reviews for small 5G cell sites across the US. So long as the sites aren't going to "adversely impact" historic locations, they'll get up and running that much faster. The FCC will also "welcome input" on how to improve things further.
Republican party embraces next-gen wireless and IoT
In 2012 the GOP's official platform didn't say much about broadband. In fact, in the 62-page, roughly 30,000-word document detailing the party's various policy stances, the word "broadband" only appeared once. In 2016, things are a little different. The platform dedicates far more space to talk of expanding internet access. It even calls for reforms that would help the Internet of Things "thrive."
White House pledges $400 million for 5G research
Following yesterday's FCC vote to adopt new rules to guide the development of 5G technology, the Obama Administration is pledging support for research. More specifically, the White House announced a $400 million Advanced Wireless Research Initiative that will be led by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project aims to build four "city-scale testing platforms" over the next 10 years. In the announcement, the administration reiterated that the US is the first to free up spectrum above 24 GHz for the high-speed networks that are said to be 100 times faster than the 4G we use today.
FCC adopts new rules for the foundation of 5G networks
We knew it was coming, and now the FCC has made it official. Today the commission voted to adopt new rules that would facilitate the development of 5G wireless networks in the US. More specifically, the guidelines relate to wireless spectrum above 24GHz and make the United States the first country in the world to make the spectrum available for so-called next-gen networks. The FCC said in a press release that its approaching 5G the way it has approached 4G (LTE) networks in the past, a strategy that will "set a strong foundation for the rapid advancement to next-generation 5G."
What you need to know about the FCC's 5G vote
Tomorrow morning, the five chairpeople of the Federal Communications Commission are expected to take their seats behind a long wooden table and vote on a foundation for a 5G future. That might sound a little dry, but consider the obvious: We demand richer, better content on our mobile devices by the moment, and we're demanding faster speeds than ever before. There's still room to grow with existing LTE and LTE-Advanced networks, but the push for fifth-generation wireless tech is a push for a future with faster data speeds, less latency and coverage for more people. And beyond just smartphones, 5G could prove to be the connective tissue that more firmly binds together the Internet of Things and power mass augmented reality experiences. Who doesn't want that? The FCC is due to deliver their thoughts at 10:30AM Eastern tomorrow, but here's a quick rundown of what's been going on from the beginning.
FCC lays out its big 5G push
Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler made an impassioned plea for the US to take the lead in developing a wireless 5G standard. "To seize the opportunities before us, we need the next generation of wireless connectivity – a fifth generation, or 5G," he said. What's more he laid forth a plan to do it. On Thursday, Wheeler will seek to "open up" a swath of high-band spectrum for 5G applications; he's calling it the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding.
Researchers create high-speed electronics for your skin
Make no mistake, today's wearables are clever pieces of kit. But they can be bulky and restricted by the devices they must be tethered to. This has led engineers to create thinner and more powerful pieces of wearable technology that can be applied directly to the skin. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Zhenqiang "Jack" Ma, have developed "the world's fastest stretchable, wearable integrated circuits," that could let hospitals apply a temporary tattoo and remove the need for wires and clips.
Intel explains its strategy for moving beyond the PC
When Intel slashed thousands of jobs as part of its big attempt to expand beyond the PC, it left a lot of people wondering: just what is this strategy, and why is it so vital? As of today, you have a better (if imperfect) explanation. CEO Brian Krzanich has outlined that strategy in a lengthy editorial. He believes that the cloud is the most important thing forming the "smart, connected world," and that everything revolves around it. That means fostering 5G data access, connecting the internet of things and pushing for technology that improves computing power in devices and data centers, such as ever-denser processors and extra-fast 3D memory.
5G was the real star of Mobile World Congress
Expect 2016 to be the year when all of the talk around 5G starts to feel like more than hype. It seemed as if the big tech companies couldn't shut up about it at Mobile World Congress this week -- and for good reason. It's been over six years since LTE 4G started rolling out, and a finalized 5G standard is expected to arrive around 2018. Now's the time to start exploring the new frontier if you've got a stake in mobile. Naturally, there were plenty of demos and jargon-filled press releases about 5G during the show. But there were also some impressive demos and a palpable excitement in the air for what's to come next.
Samsung proves why 5G is necessary with a robot arm
We've been hearing murmurs about 5G for years now, but it seems like this Mobile World Congress is the one where companies have started to get serious about it. Samsung and Deutsche Telekom, for example, put together a 5G demo that shows off how the technology is a serious upgrade from today's 4G LTE networks. The big takeaway? "Faster" means many different things.
Verizon starts testing 5G wireless in the field
At last, 5G cellular data is leaving the lab. Verizon and Samsung have started testing the multi-gigabit wireless access in "real-world" conditions around Verizon's HQ, including indoors and in moving vehicles. The experience isn't the same as what you'd get on a phone -- this involves specialized equipment just a short hop away from a base station -- but the early results are promising. There's enough bandwidth to comfortably stream 4K video, including VR clips that require 17 simultaneous feeds. For all intents and purposes, you're getting fiber optic speeds over a long-range wireless link.
AT&T gets ready to test 5G technologies in 2016
AT&T has been working on possible 5G technologies, such as millimeter waves, for years. Now that it's time to get serious, it's teaming up with Ericsson and Intel to ramp up its development in the lab in the second quarter of the year. After that, it's moving its 5G endeavors out of the lab and into the field, starting with outdoor tests over the summer.
The US wants the world to offer more airwaves for 5G and drones
The US doesn't just want to carve out space for 5G cellular service on its own frequencies -- it wants the rest of the world to follow suit. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is calling on other countries to free up more of their wireless spectrum for the sake of 5G, drones and flight tracking systems. Ideally, this would create a wide-enough demand for advanced wireless that the economies of scale make sense. Your favorite phone or robot makers might be more likely to embrace the technology if they know that it'll be useful across the planet, rather than one or two regions.
AT&T Mobility head: Let's cool it with the 5G hype
Hoping to splash a bit of cold water on Verizon's 5G testing news, AT&T Mobility chief Glenn Lurie is promoting a "wait and see" approach for the next generation of wireless technology. "We're not at a point to be making promises or commitments to customers as to what 5G is," Lurie told CNET at the CTIA trade show last week. "We as an industry have been really good at overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to new technology." While it may just sound like damage control from AT&T, Lurie does have a point. Verizon's announcement that it would begin testing 5G next year, with the possibility of beginning its 5G rollout in 2017, seems premature when we don't even know what that technology will ultimately look like. Lurie's comments also feel like a repeat of history: Verizon (which owns Engadget and AOL) started testing 4G LTE before AT&T back in 2008, at which point AT&T also promoted caution around the new tech.
Verizon will start testing speedy 5G wireless in 2016
Fast 4G data is only just becoming relatively commonplace in the US, but Verizon is already thinking about the next big thing. The carrier just unveiled plans to trial 5G wireless service sometime during 2016. You won't likely see it deploy 5G in earnest until 2017 at best, but the technology theoretically makes even modern-day LTE look pokey. You could get 50 times the peak bandwidth, under 10 milliseconds of lag and headroom for many more devices. In short, this is the cellular tech you've been waiting for -- it nearly eliminates the gap in quality between landline internet access and your smartphone.
Samsung's homegrown '5G' comes with a catch
Samsung and HTC's new smartphones may command the bulk of the attention at this year's Mobile World Congress but the show isn't just about new handsets. Samsung and Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom will use the show to demonstrate a new mobile data system that'll reach of speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Although the official 5G standard isn't yet defined, the pair are trying to elbow in on the act by calling the process "5G." Unfortunately, while that level of speed is thrilling, the technology behind it does come with a few "uhm," "ah," and "but" noises attached.
