AT&T Mobility chief: Don’t get too excited about superfast 5G wireless yet

In response to Verizon’s plans to move to 5G, AT&T’s Glenn Lurie says he prefers to wait until the industry can agree on what the technology will look like before making any proclamations.

AT&T is not impressed with 5G wireless technology. At least, not this soon.

Verizon last week made waves when it said it would conduct field tests using 5G technology next year and committed to “some level of commercial deployment” in 2017. That timeline is significantly ahead of the 2020 time frame that many in the industry believe will mark the beginning of broader adoption of 5G, which could bring dramatically higher speeds to consumers.

But AT&T wants to pump the brakes on any excitement.

“We’re not at a point to be making promises or commitments to customers as to what 5G is,” Glenn Lurie, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, said in an interview at the CTIA Wireless industry trade show last week. “We as an industry have been really good at overpromising and underdelivering when it comes to new technology.”

The comments come amid an intensifying battle over the perception of wireless network superiority, a key weapon for preserving customer loyalty or picking off subscribers from rivals. Verizon is looking to push the technology for faster wireless technology and better coverage. But AT&T, which has made strides catching up to Verizon with its 4G coverage, believes that it’s too early to talk publicly about the technology.

AT&T’s contention is that the technology behind 5G is still in its infancy and is in such an early stage that no one can agree on what it will look like. Without defined industry standards to which everyone can adhere, it would premature to talk about the potential benefits.

“Let’s make sure that before we start hyping what it’s going to be, that those standards are agreed to,” Lurie said.

Verizon defended its announcement and touted the coalition of equipment vendors and industry players it has created to help it move to 5G.

“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,” said a Verizon spokesman.

Many carriers are working on various tests of 5G technology, Lurie said, although he declined to comment on whether AT&T was one of them. He added that AT&T was working with the industry to figure out a standard for the technology.

It’s a bit of rerun from the last advent of new wireless technology. In 2008, Verizon was the first in the US to lead the charge to the variant of 4G technology called Long-Term Evolution, or LTE, and it launched its service to consumers two years later. At the time, AT&T also downplayed the immediate benefits of 4G, noting that early devices would be clunky and would quickly run through their batteries.

Eventually, the move to 4G LTE by both Verizon and AT&T helped drive a jump in mobility, ushering in the rise of sophisticated smartphones and mobile programs and services that are now integral to our lives (think video chat or even selfies).

The hope is that 5G, which will bring speeds that are higher than what Google Fiber offers through a superfast landline connection, will usher in a new revolution. It was a popular topic for folks attending the US-centric CTIA wireless conference last week.

With 5G, a copy of the movie “The Guardians of the Galaxy” would zip to your device in 15 seconds instead of 6 minutes via 4G. The chief digital officer of apparel maker Under Armour, Robin Thurston, said last week that 5G responsiveness would enable sensors in high-tech clothing and accessories to relay real-time vital stats of a player in the middle of a game to the coaches, something that Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is too slow to accomplish.

Verizon isn’t going it alone. The company has partnered with companies such as Ericsson, Nokia and Qualcomm, along with a number of venture capitalists looking to invest in new products able to tap into the faster network.

“We are all aligned with Verizon to ensure the success and leading position for the US,” said Rima Qureshi, chief strategy officer for Swedish telecom supplier Ericsson.

Verizon to be first to field-test crazy-fast 5G wireless

It expects “some level of commercial deployment” to begin by 2017 for next-generation wireless. That’s much earlier than the common industry belief that 2020 will mark the start.

Verizon is getting ready to kick its wireless network up another notch.

The nation’s largest wireless carrier will begin field trials on so-called fifth-generation, or 5G, technology within the next 12 months, Roger Gurnani, chief information and technology architect for Verizon, said in an interview last week. He expects “some level of commercial deployment” to begin by 2017. That’s far earlier than the time frame of 2020 that many in the industry have pegged for the initial adoption of 5G technology.

The trials would make Verizon the world’s first carrier to seriously move into 5G. It also represents an initial step toward the broader telecom industry radically transforming wireless service by adding significantly higher speed and responsiveness. Just as the move to today’s 4G wireless technology drove an explosion of smartphone adoption and mobile services, 5G could similarly drive its own tech revolution.

“The future is going to bring more stuff that I can’t really describe,” Gurnani said. “We can’t possibly envision the full range of disruptive products and services. But we have some possibilities.”

How fast is 5G? Verizon’s tests have shown a connection speed that is 30 to 50 times faster than our current 4G network, or higher speeds than what Google Fiber offers through a direct physical connection into the home, Gurnani said.

With 5G, that copy of the movie “The Guardians of the Galaxy” would zip to your device in 15 seconds instead of 6 minutes via 4G.

There are other key benefits. It’s far more responsive, so the precise hand movements of a surgeon in Tokyo could be transferred to New York in real time. It’s supposed to be more power-efficient, so devices are expected to last 10 times as long. Carriers will also be able to send more data across a fatter pipe, so a hit TV show like HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will stream just fine even if millions of other people are watching too.

But it’s still early for 5G — so early that few can agree on what the technology will actually look like. The increased speed and responsiveness may supercharge today’s emerging tech trends: the Internet of Things, or the idea that everyday objects like your refrigerator or bed can talk to each other; self-driving cars; and virtual reality, which employs supersharp imagery to place you in another world.

For all the whiz-bang capabilities of 5G, Gurnani is grounded by his responsibilities in the now. “At this time, our focus is on the technology field trials and accelerating the technology,” he said.

There’s a global race to get to 5G first, and Verizon intends to maintain its pole position. The New York-based company was one of the first carriers in the world to employ 4G technology back when it announced it would begin trials in 2008. By late 2010, it was ready to launch the service in 38 markets.

“It’s a very aggressive timeline,” said Rima Qureshi, chief strategy officer of telecommunications equipment supplier Ericsson.

Verizon isn’t alone in its early embrace of 5G. South Korea hopes its wireless carriers can deploy a trial 5G network in 2018, in time for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Japan hopes to have a 5G network running in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Chinese government, meanwhile, has also pushed for the aggressive deployment of 5G technology.

“It’ll be interesting to see what the reaction is,” Qureshi said of the potential ripple effect of Verizon’s move.

As it did when it started its 4G work, Verizon has lined up partners including Ericsson, Nokia (and recently acquired rival Alcatel-Lucent), Cisco, Qualcomm and Samsung. Last month it set up its first Verizon 5G Technology Forum. The company has also created “sandboxes,” or small testing areas utilizing 5G technology, in its innovation centers in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Francisco.

In a nod to the potential opportunity that stems from the Internet of Things, Verizon’s forum also includes a group of venture capitalists working on emerging technologies that can take advantage of the speedier connection.

While Gurnani is calling for commercial deployment in 2017, don’t expect to pick up a 5G smartphone then. Prior to its wider 4G launch in 2010, Verizon had set up networks in Boston and Seattle largely to test 4G data-based phone calls and other mobile applications. How the commercial deployment of 5G will look in 2017 will depend on the kinds of applications and devices that emerge from the testing stage.

Gurnani declined to say how many markets would launch in 2017, saying it’s too early to discuss the company’s rollout plans.

While Verizon wants to maintain its leadership position in the world’s wireless race, Gurnani conceded that other countries are further ahead when it comes to their policies on spectrum, or the invisible airwaves that are responsible for ferrying our data and voice calls to our mobile devices. To enable this next-generation technology, Verizon and the rest of the industry will need more of those airwaves.

“For technical trials themselves, we have what we need,” Gurnani said. “Beyond that, 5G will require big bands of spectrum,” he said.

Gurnani and Verizon will be speaking more about its 5G plans at the upcoming CTIA Wireless trade show, which officially kicks off Wednesday in Las Vegas.