We imagine that it will probably be a while before we start to see 5G coverage become more common and widely available, similar to back in the day when 4G was still relatively new. However if you want to take advantage of 5G but don’t have a 5G-enabled handset, not to worry as Verizon has you covered.
The company has recently announced that come 2019, they will be launching a 5G hotspot device. Unlike the carrier’s 5G Home, which uses a different proprietary standard for 5G, this hotspot will use “true” 5G NR connectivity, meaning that the speeds and performance you experience with this hotspot should be indicative of what you can expect from Verizon’s 5G network on your phones in the future.
According to Inseego, the company that worked with Verizon to develop the device, they claim that they have “achieved more than 2Gbps of speed and sub-10 milliseconds of latency in multiple component carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios”, but we expect that your mileage may vary.
Verizon’s push for 5G seems rather aggressive as they had also previously announced that they will be launching a 5G smartphone with Samsung come 2019. However since smartphones with 5G will probably take some time before they become a standard feature, we suppose this 5G hotspot should do the trick if you absolutely have to have those speeds.