CEO: Verizon 5G Fixed Wireless Trial Will Offer Gigabit Broadband via ‘Wireless Fiber’

The Verizon 5G fixed wireless trial planned for 2017 will support gigabit speeds and will include over-the-top (OTT) video, said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam. “I call it ‘wireless fiber,’” said McAdam of the 5G fixed wireless technology. Eventually 5G is expected to also support mobile services, but initial plans for Verizon and some other carriers are focused on fixed deployments. Verizon’s initial 5G fixed wireless deployments are expected to support services similar to fiber-to-the-premises based offerings such as Verizon’s FiOS service, but fiber will be brought only to within 200 to 1,000 feet of the home, using high-speed wireless for the final link, McAdam explained.