Something huge is happening on Jan. 5. For the past year, Verizon and AT&T have delivered 5G experiences that look and feel a lot like 4G, because they’re on old 4G channels. Next week, that could start to change.
Jan. 5 is the first day the carriers have said they may launch C-Band 5G, which uses mid-band airwaves—on a frequency sandwiched between the two Wi-Fi bands—to deliver faster 5G to many more people. T-Mobile is already using mid-band, which is why it won our Fastest Mobile Networks award for the first time in a decade.
But we still know very little about what’s actually happening next week. I have five big questions that I’m hoping Verizon (and maybe AT&T?) will answer very soon.
1. Is the Network Launching on Jan. 5?
Verizon said it will cover 100 million Americans by the end of March 2022. It also said Jan. 5 could be the first day it launches the network. But “could” doesn’t mean “will.”
The FAA is also still pledging to ground flights in bad weather if carriers turn on the C-Band network, based on highly debated opinions about the network’s potential effects on radio altimeters. If the alternative is chaos in the air, Verizon may have to hold off further.
And what about AT&T? AT&T has also said it could launch on Jan. 5, although it’s only promising to have 70-75 million people covered by the end of the year. AT&T could launch next week, or hold off much longer than Verizon.
2. How Many of the 46 Zones Will Be Part of the Initial Launch?
Verizon and AT&T are allowed to launch the network in 46 “partial economic areas”—plots of land in and near 46 of the top 50 US metro areas. (Take a look at the list below.) But they could choose to launch in one, a few, or just in central cities.
Verizon already showed some C-Band activity in Los Angeles, and our sources say Chicago will also be a launch market.
There are two hints as to where Verizon will go first. Verizon is likely to put C-Band in metro areas where it already has its millimeter-wave 5G infrastructure, or where it has CBRS (Band 48), which is a very similar frequency to C-Band.
But that still leaves a lot of potential options. Late-2020 testing by RootMetrics (which is now, like PCMag, part of Ziff Davis) showed CBRS in 70 metro areas, although coverage wasn’t great. Verizon also now has mmWave in parts of 87 cities.
That said, one other city I’m willing to say will launch early would be Philadelphia.
3. Which Phones Will Support the New Network?
We know which phones have the hardware for C-Band. Apple’s iPhone 12 and 13 lines; Samsung’s Galaxy A13, A32, A42, Note 20, Galaxy S21, Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 lines; Google’s Pixel 5, 5a and 6 lines; and some others can all potentially support the new network.
But the carriers would need to enable and support all of those phones, which is where the question lies. Verizon could decide to only support the “21” Samsung generation and not the “20” generation, for instance.
4. Will Phones Need Firmware Upgrades, and How Long Will That Take?
This is closely related to the previous question. Will C-Band just appear, or will phones need firmware updates that are painfully programmed, cleared, and distributed over several months? A need for software updates could delay the C-Band experience for millions of people.
5. Will Any New Services Plans or Applications Come With the Launch?
Finally, the carriers will have a lot more network capacity with C-Band online. Right now, Verizon’s unlimited plans are truly unlimited, with no throttling and unlimited hotspot, on mmWave 5G. Will Verizon extend that promise to C-Band, or limit it like it does with “nationwide” 5G? AT&T has a 40GB hotspot limit on even its most expensive plan; will that be lifted? And will the carriers expand home internet service availability, or introduce other new services based on the new network? Guess we’ll see next week.
