5G is here

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NEW YORK – “5G is here,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon Chief Executive Officer.

Continuing its legacy of consumer firsts, Verizon is launching Verizon 5G Home, the world’s first commercial 5G broadband internet service, on October 1. And beginning Thursday at 8am ET, U.S. consumers can visit FirstOn5G.com to learn more about the service and sign up to be a “First On 5G” Member. Verizon 5G Home will initially be available in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. It is built on Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G network. Verizon is the first company to bring 5G broadband internet service to consumers and is expected to be the first to offer 5G mobile service.

Verizon has spearheaded the 5G ecosystem for three years, with its 5G Technology Forum, 5G Labs, work with international standards bodies, and collaboration with network equipment and device makers. Further advancing 5G, the company isn’t waiting for the most recent technical standards to deliver 5G Home, pushing ahead with its own proprietary 5G standard in this initial commercial launch. “To be first, we encouraged others in the ecosystem to move more quickly at every step,” said Vestberg. “We appreciate the partnership of network equipment makers, device manufacturers, software developers and chip makers in reaching this critical milestone. The entire wireless industry gets to celebrate.”

The world’s first commercial 5G service, Verizon 5G Home, is live on Oct 1; service is available for order on Thursday

Starting Thursday at 8am ET, consumers can order Verizon 5G Home at FirstOn5G.com. By being an early Member, consumers in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento will get Verizon 5G Home free for three months as part of a special introductory offer available to “First On 5G” Members. After that introductory period, current Verizon Wireless customers with a qualifying smartphone plan will pay $50 per month for the service, while non-Verizon Wireless customers will pay $70 per month. This monthly charge includes all taxes and fees, and does not require an annual contract. There are no additional hardware costs. Verizon 5G Home customers should expect typical network speeds around 300 Mbps and, depending on location, peak speeds of nearly 1 Gig, with no data caps. Verizon 5G Home is ideal for consumers looking to “cut the cord” or upgrade from their current cable service.

5G Home customers will also get YouTube TV free the first three months ($40/month thereafter) and a free Apple TV 4K or Google Chromecast Ultra device at installation. YouTube TV offers more than 60 networks including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, popular cable and local sports networks and a cloud DVR, with no storage space limits. With Chromecast Ultra, you can stream from thousands of apps or browse over 200,000 TV shows & movies, 30 million songs, plus radio, sports, games, and more.  Apple TV 4K delivers a stunning cinematic experience at home with support for both 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR), offering customers an unmatched selection of 4K HDR movies and TV shows from iTunes, Netflix, and Prime Video, and Siri and the Apple TV App make it simple to find and play exactly what you want. Other “First On 5G” membership exclusives include:

• Free white glove installation and equipment. You get professional installation and set-up of all Wi-Fi devices, as well as a free router and router upgrades as they become available in 2019.
• 5G Mobile devices. You get the ability to be first in purchasing new 5G mobile devices as soon as they hit the market in your area.
• 5G Dedicated service. You get dedicated 5G expert representatives providing world-class support.

Everyone can sign up anywhere in the U.S. to become a “First On 5G” member and get exclusive access to Verizon 5G news and information

Starting October 1, Verizon 5G Home will be available initially in certain neighborhoods in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Verizon will rapidly expand its coverage area once we can install the new standards-compliant equipment from our vendors. But starting Thursday, even consumers who live outside the initial launch cities can sign up at FirstOn5G.com to become “First On 5G” Members. You’ll receive updates on when 5G is coming to you, and we’ll keep you apprised of 5G-related news and offers, including the launch of Verizon’s 5G mobility service.

“’First On 5G’ Members get early access to Verizon 5G Home and are first in line for new services, including 5G mobility,” said Tami Erwin, Verizon’s wireless operations leader. “You want an opportunity to cut the cord with your cable company? Now you can cut the cord and go cable free, while getting fast, reliable home internet service over the hottest new technology.”

5G Home is built on the world’s first and only 5G Ultra Wideband network

Verizon 5G Home is unique because it’s built on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. 5G is only as good as the network it’s built on and Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network is the only 5G network that combines:

• End-to-end deep fiber resources throughout the network
• A large deployment of small cells
• Critical, and best-in-class spectrum holdings, particularly in the millimeter wave bands, the only spectrum with the bandwidth to realize the full 5G potential for capacity, throughput and latency

“To deliver the full potential of 5G, a wireless network provider must have three fundamental assets: deep fiber resources, a large deployment of small cells and critical spectrum holdings. That’s Ultra Wideband,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer.  “We will deliver a revolutionary 5G experience that will change how people live, work and play.”

Verizon is first in the world to deliver a commercial 5G service, with plans for rapid 5G broadband internet expansion and 5G mobility service

For three years, Verizon has led the way developing and deploying 5G, thereby accelerating 5G innovation and now, its introduction. In 2015, we created the 5G Technology Forum, bringing together key partners like Ericsson, Qualcomm, Intel and Samsung -- to move the entire 5G ecosystem forward. 5G Technology Forum’s technical work resulted in the release of the 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standard in December, 2017. And in 2018, Verizon has achieved a series of technological "firsts" with our 5G technology partners, including:

• First video call placed over a pre-commercial 5G connection on a prototype 5G device at the 2018 Super Bowl with Samsung in February
• First 5G NR data transmission in a lab with Nokia and Qualcomm in February
• First two-way data transmission of 3GPP 5G NR and the first use of multi-carrier aggregation to boost the signal into Gbps range -- outdoors -- with Nokia in June
• First transmission of a 5G NR signal to a receiver in a moving vehicle with Nokia in August
• First data transmission on a commercially deployed 5G NR network in Washington DC in September with Nokia
• First data transmission over commercial 5G NR network equipment to a prototype smartphone device in Minneapolis with Ericsson and Qualcomm in September

Verizon has led the technology industry with our clear focus on bringing 5G service to consumers as quickly as possible. That’s why our 5G Home service is built on our proprietary 5G TF standard; we are able to deliver results and a 5G network faster than waiting for the formal 3GPP 5G NR standard to be incorporated into network equipment, devices, chipsets and software. As our 5G technology partners bring that hardware, software, chipsets and devices to market on the 3GPP 5G NR standard, we'll upgrade First On 5G Members to that equipment at no charge. When new network equipment is available and introduced, we’ll expand our 5G broadband internet coverage area quickly and bring 5G to additional cities.

“We spent the last three years driving the industry to bring 5G to consumers as soon as possible,” said Ronan Dunne, head of Verizon’s wireless business.  “We developed early standards that allowed the industry and hardware and software manufacturers to build solutions more quickly. As a result of this initiative and ongoing collaboration, we will rapidly deliver the promise of 5G to our customers.”

Learn more about Verizon’s plans for 5G at https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/5g.

Additional materials for media are available here: http://www.verizon5gmedia.com/.

Visit FirstOn5G.com 

Forward-looking Statements

In this communication we have made forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Forward-looking statements also include those preceded or followed by the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “hopes” or similar expressions. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The following important factors, along with those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: adverse conditions in the U.S. and international economies; the effects of competition in the markets in which we operate; material changes in technology or technology substitution; disruption of our key suppliers’ provisioning of products or services; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including any increase in restrictions on our ability to operate our networks; breaches of network or information technology security, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or acts of war or significant litigation and any resulting financial impact not covered by insurance; our high level of indebtedness; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations or adverse conditions in the credit markets affecting the cost, including interest rates, and/or availability of further financing; material adverse changes in labor matters, including labor negotiations, and any resulting financial and/or operational impact; significant increases in benefit plan costs or lower investment returns on plan assets; changes in tax laws or treaties, or in their interpretation; changes in accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC, may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings; the inability to implement our business strategies; and the inability to realize the expected benefits of strategic transactions.