Video Transcript
Marianne: Well, Sacramento has taken a big step toward solidifying your internet access by partnering with Verizon Wireless to launch 5G Service. Courtney is standing by with our resident nerd on-call to explain what that means and could mean for you.
Courtney: Yes, and this is great, because my work phone is a Verizon, and so, Brian, I was taking pictures of Alisa [SP] going through this hole. So I’m gonna need the speed…
Brian: You’re gonna need it. Yeah.
Courtney: …to be able to send these pictures to social media. This is great.
Brian: So 5G, a lot of people are thinking, oh, 5G, I’m gonna get it on my phone, right?
Courtney: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brian: I mean, it’s gonna be awesome.
Courtney: Right.
Brian: Well, it’s only launched in five cities.
Courtney: Oh, okay.
Brian: Sacramento’s one of them.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: We also got Houston, Los Angeles and some other city. I don’t even remember the other city. Anyway. So, the nice thing is, is that there are these little, tiny antennas that are going up all over the city and right now, it’s just for home service only.
Courtney: Oh, so it’s not even really affecting my cell phone?
Brian: Yeah, unfortunately, but here’s the cool part is it’s latency-free. So, I know that’s…what the heck does that mean? So here’s the cool part. They had an experience set up near the Golden 1 Center where you can go in and experience what 5G is like.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: And one of the best parts of it is they have these little VR headsets with a camera on it, and you can shoot hoops.
Courtney: Oh, okay.
Brian: And it seems kind of weird, because who’s gonna shoot hoops with a VR headset on?
Courtney: Sure.
Brian: But it’s like seeing for real at the same time.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: And what that does, it means, like, imagine telemedicine. Okay, let’s say you’ve got this amazing skill. You’re the only one who can repair a certain thing in somebody’s body.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: You can now literally surgically repair somebody in the other part of the world…
Courtney: What?
Brian: …in real time using a VR headset all because of 5G.
Courtney: That’s crazy.
Brian: So right now, the 5G services that are available in Sacramento, they’re not like super-amazing because it’s just starting out.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: It’s about 300 megabits per second, which is about the same as AT&T and about the same as Comcast.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: And it’s roughly priced about the same. It’s about $70 a month, but if you’re a Verizon customer, it’s $50 a month.
Courtney: Got it. Okay.
Brian: So it’s gonna be a little bit better coming in the future, but if you get on board now, you’re gonna be first in line to get it on your phone.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: You’re also gonna get YouTube TV for three months for free. They’ll throw in a 4K Apple TV.
Courtney: Oh, heck, yeah.
Brian: And they give you a couple of months free on just the service itself.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: So it’s pretty cool to sign up. So what you can do to sign up…let me sneak over here.
Courtney: Boo.
Brian: To sign up, you can go to firston5G.com and put in your address and they’ll tell you if you can get in there, which is kind of cool.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: Show your address. It’s really just down the main Sacramento corridor right now.
Courtney: Okay.
Brian: So if you’re out in Roseville, or Carmichael, you’re not gonna get it.
Courtney: Not quite yet. Okay.
Brian: But in the main area, you are. But it is blazing fast, even as it is, and it’s gonna get even faster. So to give you an example, by mid 2020, you’re gonna be able to download an HD movie in two seconds.
Courtney: You’re lying to me.
Brian: I’m not lying.
Courtney: You’re lying to me.
Brian: You’re gonna get on an airplane, and you’re like, “Oh, you know what I think I’m gonna do, is… Oh, I forgot to get my Pixar movie. I gotta…”
Courtney: No worries.
Brian: Boom. Done. It’s done.
Courtney: I love it. All right. We’re gonna link [inaudible 00:02:59] to our website, gooddaysacramento.com, under show info and today’s date for more details. We’ll see you on the other side of the break. I will send these pictures to social media.
Sacramento just leveled up its cellular data service in a big way. Partnering with Verizon, Sacramento is in the process of launching Verizon 5G service across the whole city!!
Skeptical that the above statement warrants double exclamation points? That’s totally fair enough, but allow us to take a step back and walk you through why we think this development is worthy of not one but two of these (!) little guys.
First, A Brief Explanation of This “G” Business
You’ve probably heard of the terms “3G” and “4G” (and “1G” and “2G” if you’ve owned a smartphone long enough). Boiled down to the basics, these are protocols for sending data to our devices.
The G stands for “Gigapolyphonic”. This is a highly technical term referring to data packets and how they… OK, that was a big lie. It just stands for “generation.” Boring I know. Sorry.
Essentially, each number represents an improvement in the speed and reliability of how data gets to your devices when you’re not connected to a WiFi network. The higher the number, the better it is.
4G became the standard around 2010, so eight years later we’re probably well overdue for an improvement!
Why Verizon 5G Matters
Which brings us to Sacramento being one of the first four cities in the US (alongside Houston, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles) to upgrade to Verizon 5G, and why it’s such a cool development.
Right now, the bulk of the coolness revolves around cost. If you’re a Verizon wireless customer, the cost of your data plan will drop from around $70 per month down to around $50 per month.
To sweeten the deal even further, 5G customers get three free months of service, three free months of YouTube TV, and … wait for it … are you ready… OK, I’ll just spit it out… either an Apple TV 4K or a Google Chromecast device.
Which Is All Very Awesome, But…
All that is great, but the real benefit of 5G is just around the corner. We’re talking major speed improvements.
Once equipment (and especially mobile devices) become capable of supporting Verizon 5G, you’ll see Internet speeds up to twenty times faster than 4G. This is an insane spike in speed and it’ll probably change how a lot of people use the Internet.
- A full-length HD movie could hit your phone in roughly two seconds.
- Gaming, even when you’re away from home, would be a completely lag-free experience.
- Streaming your activities to social media in real-time (which right now can be incredibly frustrating) will become as smooth as silk…
… to name just three multiple exclamation-point worthy possibilities.
Oh, and did I mention there’ll be no data cap? Yep. Verizon 5G customers will effectively have a bottomless bucket o’ bytes to play with.
The Benefits of Sacramento Being a “Smart City”
But these are just the benefits Verizon 5G customers will experience personally. The technology also stands to make Sacramento itself a better place to live.
Verizon 5G Is Paving the Way for Driverless Cars
5G technology represents a major infrastructural upgrade for self-driving vehicle technology. It brings the kind of speed and responsiveness you need to optimize the safety and efficiency of driverless vehicles.
Phantom Auto recently announced that it would begin testing driverless cars in Sacramento, thanks in large part to the city being a frontrunner in introducing this new tech.
It’ll Also Bring a New Wave of Tech Companies
This is only the beginning of the business potential.
In today’s hyper-connected economy, faster connection speeds mean greater business competitiveness. Sacramento is likely to see an influx of well-appointed tech companies eager to get in on the Verizon 5G action.
It also increases overall digital access. With an abundance of fast, inexpensive data, underserved communities are likely to reap the education and business benefits of better Internet performance.
How and When Can You Get in on the Action?
OK, this is where this news absolutely earns its right to double exclamation point status.
Right now, as you read these very words, Verizon 5G is already available in some parts of Sacramento. We can also expect to see coverage rapidly expand across the whole city in the coming months.
If you’re keen on being an early-adopter (as any self-respecting nerd should be!) jump on to FirstOn5G.com to receive updates on coverage expansion, service availability and 5G-related offers from Verizon.
You should probably add a bookmark to the Verizon 5G FAQ. This handy resource will keep you up to speed on what’s happening and where.
Last but not least, you can also stop by your local Verizon store to get your first, sweet taste of the Verizon 5G experience.
They have a demo where you can use 5G to experience the moon landing as Neil Armstrong. You can shoot hoops in VR. You can also get practical and see an actual 5G home set up. It’s pretty cool and well worth checking out.
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