Verizon said last week that it plans to conduct 5G wireless technology field tests sometime in 2016. Despite prefacing the announcement with the fact that the speedy tech likely won't arrive until sometime after 2020, the admission generated plenty of buzz online - enough to get the attention of its largest rival.
AT&T Mobility chief Glenn Lurie addressed the matter during a recent CTIA event, telling CNET that they aren't yet in a position to be making promises or commitments to customers as to what 5G is. Lurie added that the industry has a solid track record of overpromising and under delivering when it comes to new technology.
At its technology forum in August, Verizon said 5G wireless will offer roughly 50 times the throughput compared to what's possible using today's 4G LTE networks with latencies in the single milliseconds. In addition to much faster connections, the technology is also expected to be able to handle what could be a boom in connected devices - assuming of course that the Internet of Things permeates our lives as forecasted.
It's unclear if AT&T is simply trying to discredit Verizon's achievement or play a bit of public damage control (assuming its own research into the matter isn't as far along as its rival). Whatever the reasoning, the nation's largest wireless provider is standing behind its statement.
A spokesperson told the publication that innovation happens when you're willing to look at things a little differently than others and you're willing to put in the hard work to make your vision a reality.
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