5G: The Latest News & Updates

New 5G information is released daily from around the world. Some companies are starting 5G trials in new cities, others are announcing when customers can order their 5G service, and some businesses are releasing new ideas for how 5G will change the way we live.

5G availability is extremely limited right now (here's why), with only a few locations having a live, non-demo, subscriber-based network up and running. However, many companies are just a few months away from launching a full-blown 5G network for customers to use.

Below is all the information you need to know to stay on track with how 5G is progressing around the globe.

Many companies around the world are announcing new 5G trials and potential live 5G networks for customers.

• January 22: Ooredoo trials their first international 5G call between Doha and Kuwait, calling it the first in the Arab nation.
• January 21: Zhejiang Hangzhou Sci-Tech City (Haichuang Park) becomes the first full 5G park in China. It will be used for 5G research.
• January 18: 5G Garage, Singapore's first live 5G facility, opens up in collaboration with Singtel, Singapore Polytechnic, and Ericsson.
• January 17: Huawei announces the completion of a 5G NR test at 2.5 GHz spectrum in northern Beijing, China, citing that "2.6 GHz can be one of the excellent choices for operators to deploy 5G NSA/SA commercial network."
• January 8: The city of Sioux Falls, SD, partners with Verizon to have the company install small cell technology throughout the city in preparation for a 5G rollout.
• January 8: China Telecom Sichuan launches the world's first 5G subway station in Chengdu.
• January 3: Vodafone, Orange, and Huawei announce plans to run 5G trials in Spain, in Pamplona, Andalucia, Malaga, and Seville.
• December 28: Finland's DNA telecom company plans to launch a 5G network in 2019 in Helsinki, and reveals that it's also working on a fixed wireless access (FWA) network in Vantaa.

Phones for 5G are quickly approaching, with many companies planning to release them this year. Other mobile carriers are offering 5G hotspots so that customers can get on 5G with their 4G devices.

• January 16: Deloitte's 2019 Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Predictions estimates that around 1 million 5G handsets will be shipped to customers before the end of 2019, plus 1 million 5G modems and another one million 5G FWA devices.
• January 14: South Korea's ETNews says that Samsung's upcoming 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 X which will be released March 29th, will have six cameras, a fingerprint sensor embedded in the display, 10 GB of RAM, a 5,000 mAh battery, and 1 TB of storage.
• January 7: Sprint confirms that a Samsung 5G smartphone will be available on its network in the summer of 2019.
• January 4: D-Link reveals the DWR-2010, a 5G router capable of speeds 40 times faster than the average fixed broadband speed in the US, and built to connect to a 5G network with nothing more than a SIM card and power outlet.
• December 17: Qualcomm introduces its next-gen cellular chipset, the 9205 LTE modem, built for Internet of Things (IoT) applications like sensors, monitors, and trackers.
• December 13: Chinese mobile device manufacturer Ulefone reveals the Armor 6 as the world's first rugged 5G phone. Network testing will start in the second quarter of 2019 in collaboration with China Mobile.

A new era of 5G-enabled products is beginning. A few practical use cases for 5G include interconnected smart cities, mobile augmented reality and virtual reality, and device-to-device communication.

• January 17: Japanese telco operator KDDI shows how during a snowstorm, 5G can be used to overlay clean roads in real time as they existed in the summer, which lets the driver know exactly where to drive and what to avoid.
• January 8: China completes the world's first remote surgery over a 5G connection, carried out by a doctor in Fujian who removed the liver of a test animal from 30 miles (48.28 km) away.
• January 8: AT&T reveals plans for building a 5G-enabled hospital in the US with Rush University Medical Center and the Rush System for Health.
• January 7: Ford announces that starting in 2022, all of their new vehicles released in the United States will support cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X), which only 5G can power.
• December 22: Elisa and Anicare introduce new ways of using 5G to monitor the health and movements of reindeer in Finland, via Anicare Oy's HealTag.
• December 15: Highways England reveals a trial project that will run through December, 2020, to develop a method for 5G vehicles to receive speed limits and other traffic information on their windshield.

5G isn't yet as ubiquitous as 4G, but that doesn't stop businesses from planning how they can capitalize on it. Companies are developing ideas on how they might one day use a 5G network or 5G device; some could even prove to be a good investment if you get in early.

• January 23: UK's O2 and Vodafone agree to a 5G sharing partnership with the intention to extend their existing network sharing agreement to include 5G.
• January 23: Japan's DOCOMO will launch a pre-commercial 5G network in September, 2019.
• January 22: IT software company Tieto partners with Swedish telecom operator Telia to develop new 5G products, services, and use cases to help expedite 5G technology development in Sweden.
• January 21: AT&T provides details about how it plans to improve businesses with 5G.
• January 18: ZTE and China Unicom make their first 5G call in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, via ZTE's 5G smartphone prototype.
• January 16: Ericsson reveals that they're willing to lower their royalty rate for 5G smartphones from $5 down to $2.50, depending on the situation.
• January 16: Bangladesh telecom regulator BTRC says that in 2020 mobile operators will be given licenses to launch 5G.
• January 15: South Korea's SK Telecom and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) develop 5G antenna technology to increase call quality in the 28 GHz spectrum.