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Verizon Completes Its Radio Specs for 5G, Pushing Its Agenda For Global Standard Down the Line (cnet.com)
Roger Cheng, reporting for CNET: The reality of 5G, wireless connectivity that's faster than our speediest home internet service, is years away. But that isn't stopping Verizon from making its presence felt now. The nation's largest wireless carrier said Monday it has worked out the radio specifications for its 5G deployment with its vendor partners, providing a common blueprint for everyone regarding the network infrastructure, processors and devices. It's a significant step on the path to 5G. And by moving quickly now, Verizon hopes to set the agenda for how the standards look, a similar strategy it took with its 4G LTE deployment. Setting the specifications not only speeds the process for its own vendors, but may influence the international community when players around the world finally begin hammering out a global standard, expected in 2020. The Federal Communications Commission is also working to free up resources to drive 5G in the US. [...] Verizon said it will begin commercially deploying its service next year.
What good does extra speed do when there are very low data caps, at least here in the US?
Right now the typical account gievs you 1 - 3 GB per month. Pretty easy to burn though in no time watching a few videos.
Their new account tier 'adjustments' announced a few days ago change nothing.
If higher speeds are to be useful, and mobile streaming is to be useful, they need to do away with the data caps again. Right now we're starting to see a very non-neutrality focusd solution where certain companies streaming services are exempt from the data count. This is a problem when the little indie streaming station I want to listen to is not included. Listener supported indie radio outlets like somaFM.com and Radio Paradise are left out in the cold, shutting out diversity. I can't listen to them in my car, only at home.
Many people feel that data caps are strictly a business decision, and not a technical issue. Which means that there is not enough competition in the cellular wireless sphere. The barrier to entry in this market is very high so it's not surprising.
Why does it take years to draft a standard?
It takes years because each vendor wants a "standard" established which gives them a competitive advantage over the other vendors. Even if their preferred "standard" is technically inferior - like, oh I don't know let's make something up... not being able to handle both voice and data traffic at the same time.
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