5G: The Latest News & Updates (May 2019)

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, 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.

5G is significantly faster than 4G because it uses different radio frequencies. See How Are 4G and 5G Different? for more.

5G Releases and Trials

Illustration of 5G trials — Designed by Rawpixel.com

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

5G Challenges: Why It Isn't Rolling Out Faster

May 22: EE announces the launch of 5G in the UK, as well as 5G plans and devices that you can pre-order to use on the 5G network when it's switched on May 30.
May 21: Ericsson launches a new 5G innovation hub in Moscow, Russia.
May 20: Vietnam's largest mobile network operator, Viettel, will run 5G pilots starting in June.
May 20: Optus announces more areas getting 5G in Australia by the end of May: Bonnyrigg and Minchinbury in Sydney’s west, Niagara Park on the NSW Central Coast, Cook in the ACT, and Kenmore outside of Brisbane.
May 15: Fishers Indiana grants AT&T permission to install small cell towers for 5G.
May 14: Vodafone 5G will go live July 3, 2019, in the UK.
May 7: Sprint plans to launch mobile 5G in "the coming weeks" starting in areas of Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Kansas City.
April 28: Ericsson and Saudi Arabian telecom company Mobily reach 5G speeds of over 1 Gbps in tests conducted in Mecca.
April 26: AT&T 5G network in Atlanta reaches speeds over 2 Gbps.
April 25: China Unicom brings 5G to the Qianhai-Shekou Free Trade Zone in Shenzhen.

April 25: Verizon names 20 more US cities that will have access to its mobile 5G network in 2019.
April 24: EE will trial a 5G network at Worthy Farm during Glastonbury Festival to create the UK's first 5G-connected festival.
April 23: China Unicom moves up its commercial 5G rollout to May 2019.
April 17: Swisscom's 5G network goes live across 102 locations.
April 11: Vodafone UK begins testing 5G in Newbury.
April 10: Swisscom plans to cover all of Switzerland in 5G before 2020.
April 9: AT&T 5G comes to seven more cities: Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.
April 9: Azercell, a mobile telecom company in Azerbaijan, makes a two-year 5G deal with Ericsson to upgrade its mobile network.
April 8: San Diego CA and Verizon reach a deal to begin laying the groundwork for 5G in the city.
April 8: Sri Lanka, a South Asian island country, will invest $50 million USD in 2019 to roll out 5G.
April 6: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Communications & Information Technology vice minister reports that 5G networks are expected in the country by the end of Q2 or early Q3 2019.

April 4: Swiss telecom provider Sunrise announces 5G coverage in over 150 cities and villages, and provides a 5G coverage map.
April 4: Orange Spain and ZTE complete their first 5G call on a 5G network in Valencia, and announce 5G tests in Seville, Barcelona, Bilbao, Vigo, and other cities.
April 3: Verizon turns on 5G ahead of schedule in Chicago and Minneapolis.
April 3: SK Telecom announces their upcoming 5G plans for South Korea.
April 2: KT reveals their unlimited 5G plans for South Korean customers, set to go into effect April 5.
April 1: Inwi announces plans to launch 5G in Morocco.
March 30: Ericsson and Batelco agree to launch 5G in Bahrain.
March 30: Shanghai performs the city's first 5G video call using a Huawei Mate X, and says to have developed the world's first district with both 5G and a broadband gigabit network.
March 28: Vodafone Portugal launches 5G tests in Lisbon.
March 27: Telenor announces that Trondheim will be the first big city to receive 5G in Norway.
March 26: 5G in the Kingdom of Bahrain is set to go live this June.

March 26: T-Mobile Austria launches 5G network with its first 25 transmission stations in 17 municipalities.
March 25: Austrian network provider A1 chooses Nokia to expand its 5G network.
March 21: T-Mobile announces an invite-only pilot for in-home LTE service to lay the groundwork for its in-home 5G service.
March 13: Verizon announces plans to turn on mobile 5G in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11.
March 11: Volvo CE, Ericsson, and Telia launch a 5G network in Eskilstuna, Sweden, for industrial use like remote-controlled machines.
March 11: Indonesian-based telecom company XL Axiata chooses Ericsson to modernize its network with 5G-ready routers between Q2 2019 and 2022.
March 7: T-Mobile will soon start 4G FWA trials in preparation for their 5G fixed broadband service.
March 7: Dublin's first 5G testbed network goes live in the Docklands area.
March 7: Vodafone begins 5G trials in Bristol, Cardiff, and Liverpool, and announces a 2019 5G launch across 19 cities in the UK.
March 1: China Mobile launches 5G base station in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

February 27: Telefónica Spain brings 5G to the Camp Nou football stadium in Barcelona via Ericsson-supplied massive MIMO antennas.
February 26: China Unicom launches 5G services in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, China.
February 25: Maxis and Huawei agree to deploy 5G in Malaysia.
February 25: Nokia and Telenor Group announce plans to test 5G in Denmark in Q2 2019.
February 25: Saudi Telecom Company (STC) reaches a deal with Ericsson to deploy 5G in Saudi Arabia.
February 25: Sprint marks May of this year as the start date for its commercial mobile 5G service. It will launch in four cities to start: Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Kansas City.
February 20: Rakuten and Tech Mahindra set up a 5G lab in Tokyo called the Rakuten Cloud Innovation Laboratory.
February 20: Ericsson is selected by Vodafone to deploy 5G-ready equipment across India.
February 18: Vodafone turns on its 5G network at Manchester Airport.
February 18: China Mobile Shanghai launches a 5G network in the Hongqiao railway station.
February 14: Huangpu District and China Mobile agree to run a 5G pilot in the Bund, People's Square, and Nanjing Road, among other Shanghai areas.

February 13: The UK turns on its first 5G factory in Worcestershire.
February 12: AT&T announces their goal to bring 5G to two new cities in 2019: Minneapolis MN and Chicago IL.
February 11: Optus turns on a new 5G site in Kellyville, Sydney, Australia.
February 11: Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) approves 5G trials in Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara.
February 8: AT&T's mobile 5G goes live in parts of AT&T Stadium.
February 8: Thailand launches a Huawei 5G test bed.
February 6: Deutsche Telekom announces a new 5G test field opening in Darmstadt in southwest Germany.
February 4: EE reveals plans to trial their 5G network at the EE British Academy Film Awards 2019 so that they can introduce their holographic AI stylist.
January 31: Optus announces their fixed wireless access 5G service in Australia: unlimited data for $70 /month with at least 50 Mbps download speeds.
January 29: Telenor announces plans to run a 5G pilot in Kongsberg, Norway, from Q2 2019 through 2020.

January 29: Chinese mobile communications company OPPO completes a six-party 5G video call over the WeChat mobile app.
January 27: China Mobile opens its first 5G base station in the Qinghai-Tibet region.
January 24: C Spire reveals that they launched their 5G mmWave fixed wireless access (FWA) service to Mississippi residents in late 2018.
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.
December 24: ExteNet Systems announces plans to erect a 5G network in Smyrna, Georgia.
December 21: Dutch mobile telecom company KPN announces the launch of their 5G Field Lab in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, where "new 5G applications are being tested to make cities more sustainable."
December 20: The Korean government forms a 5G smart factory alliance that includes 19 telecom and technology companies and organizations like SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Siemens Korea, and Microsoft Korea.
December 21: Telia Lietuva reveals the launch of Lithuania's first 5G connection in Vilnius, transmitting speeds of 1.8 Gbps.

December 20: Panasonic and Ericsson announce that their 5G-ready solution for bringing a connected experience onboard commercial aircraft is now live. According to the companies, "Every passenger whose mobile service provider has a roaming agreement with AeroMobile can use the service."
December 20: Estonia receives its first live 5G test network via Telia Company, Ericsson, and TalTech University.
December 19: Ooredoo and Nokia launch the first 5G tech hub in the Asain country of Myanmar, at Yangon Technological University.
December 19: Nokia and Telefónica Germany finish building their Early 5G Innovation Cluster testbed in Berlin.
December 18: AT&T reveals that their mobile 5G network is live in parts of 12 US cities, and marks December 21 as their 5G launch day for select consumers.
December 18: Telstra confirms that parts of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, are 5G ready.
December 17: Vodafone Qatar launches its 5G network in Souq Waqif, a marketplace in Qatar.
December 17: Nokia and Italy's TIM complete full 5G coverage of the Republic of San Marino. The network will be used as an open laboratory to test 5G-enabled services.

December 15: The MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) announces a 5G Task Force to work on a 5G deployment strategy for Malaysia.
December 14: European mobile network operator Orange plans to kickstart its 2020 5G deployment by offering service in 17 cities in 2019, spanning across France, Spain, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
December 13: UK's Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS) announces its 5G testbed in the city of Bath. The network uses CCS's Metnet 60 GHz unlicensed mmWave backhaul to allow VR and AR technology to operate on 12 Gbps radios to "support interactive 5G smart tourism applications and enhanced visual experiences."
December 12: Portugal's Vodafone claim the first 5G connection in the country. They tested a Qualcomm 5G smartphone prototype, a virtual reality video call, and a VR game on Ericsson's pre-commercial 5G network.
December 12: Vodafone in Ireland announces a new fixed wireless access trial to test 5G broadband access in Roscommon, Gorey, Clonmel, and Dungarvan.

December 12: Norway's Telia Company launches its first 5G test network in Oslo at the Odeon movie theater, and also sets up a family with a "modern home" with 5G connectivity and Futurehome tech.
December 11: Australia's Telstra puts their first customer on a live 5G network in Toowoomba, for the purpose of testing the HTC 5G Hub.
December 10: UK's Vodafone begins installing small antennae under manhole covers to provide better 4G coverage and make the upgrade to 5G easier.
December 7: T-Mobile Polska launches 5G in Warsaw, Poland. Only select T-Mobile partners have access to the network.
December 7: Ericsson and Millicom's Tigo announce a deal to prepare Paraguay and Honduras for 5G by rolling out to their existing networks the Ericsson Radio System.
December 5: Telia Company and Ericsson launch Sweden's first 5G network at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It will be used to test 5G applications.
December 4: UK's Arqiva and CityFibre reveal the country's largest pilot of wholesale, 5G-ready small cell infrastructure for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

December 3: Verizon's 5G Experience Lab launches in Houston and Los Angeles to give the public one week to experience 5G first hand.
December 1: 5G launches in South Korea, available for select enterprise customers via SK Telecom, KT Corp, and LG Uplus.
November 29: Sprint deploys 5G-ready Massive MIMO radios in New York City ahead of their NY 5G launch in 2019.
November 29: Three South Korean companies announce that they’re releasing commercial 5G networks on December 1st.
November 28: Italy’s first 5G smartphone connects to TIM’s 5G network.
November 28: New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) reveals that due to security concerns, Spark cannot use Huawei's cell tower technology in their 5G network.
November 27: Singapore’s StarHub, with the help of Nokia, run their first 3GPP-compliant outdoor 5G pilot.
November 23: The UK’s O2 telecom services provider runs two Massive MIMO trials to pave the way for 5G and to boost their existing London network.
November 21: A holographic phone call is made on a 5G network in Ireland as Vodafone launches their first 5G test site in the country.

November 15: South Africa’s MTN Group Limited rolls out their first 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) trial in Midrand.
November 8: Switzerland’s Swisscom completes their first 5G data transfer on a live network in Lucerne.
November 5: Turkcell in Turkey completes a fixed wireless access trial.
October 1: Verizon becomes the first company in the US to offer fixed wireless access service to subscribers in parts of California, Texas, and Indiana, using their own 5G standard (i.e., not 5G NR).

5G Phones and Other Hardware

Illustration of various types of hardware with a blue background — Designed by Freepik

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

The 13 Best 5G Phones Coming in 2019

May 22: Telstra launches Australia's first 5G mobile device, the HTC 5G Hub.
May 17: Sprint opens pre-orders for the LG V50 ThinQ 5G phone and the HTC 5G Hub.
May 16: Sprint announces that its first two 5G devices — LG V50 ThinQ 5G and HTC 5G Hub — will be available for purchase on May 31, with pre-orders starting May 17.
May 15: Samsung Galaxy S10 5G set to launch on June 7 in the UK through EE and Vodafone, with pre-orders starting May 22.
May 15: Verizon expects the vast majority of 5G Home users to self-install the hardware when the service relaunches in late 2019.
May 14: EE announces that it will be the first operator in the world to offer the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G smartphone this summer.
May 6: ZTE launches the first 5G phone in China, the Axon 10 Pro.
May 2: Sunrise begins selling the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G and Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G in Switzerland.
May 1: Huawei plans to sell the world's first 5G 8K TV in 2019.
May 1: Swisscom begins selling the OPPO Reno 5G smartphone.
April 30: Sunrise announces two 5G smartphones it will sell starting May 2nd: Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G and Huawei Mate X.

April 25: Verizon opens preorders for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
April 24: OPPO unveils the Reno 5G, it's first phone that runs on 5G networks.
April 23: ZTE will launch the Axon 10 Pro 5G phone with the F2FS file system in Europe and China in May.
April 18: Huawei promises to create a $600 5G phone.
April 9: Huawei launches the NetEngine 8000, a metro router for 5G.
April 5: The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G launches in South Korea in 512 GB and 256 GB models.
April 4: Samsung announces the mass production of its 5G modem, the Exynos Modem 5100.
April 1: LG will begin selling the V50 ThinQ 5G on April 19 in South Korea.
April 1: Samsung confirms that Korean carriers will begin offering the Galaxy S10 5G on April 5.
March 29: AT&T uses the NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot to reach 5G speeds of over 1 Gbps in multiple cities.
March 21: Antenna technology provider Airgain announces 5G antenna solutions that let customers enable 5G NR bands in a wide range of form factors.
March 21: O2 service provider in the UK will offer Samsung's 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 5G, later this year.

March 21: Samsung will begin selling the Galaxy S10 5G in Korea on April 5.
March 14: Verizon begins accepting pre-orders for the 5G moto mod, the add-on device that will enable 5G connectivity for the moto z³.
March 13: SK Telecom says the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G will have speeds of up to 2.7 Gbps in South Korea.
February 25: Ericsson reveals the Ericsson Radio Stripe system, an antenna concept aimed at providing ubiquitous 5G connectivity.
February 25: ZTE announces their 5G phone, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G, which will be available in China and Europe in the first half of 2019.
February 25: Sprint unveils the HTC 5G Hub at MWC Barcelona. It enables 4K video streaming and connects up to 20 devices.
February 25: Qualcomm announces automotive industry's first 5G dual SIM dual active (DSDA) for connected vehicles.
February 24: Huawei announces 5G version of the Mate 20 X.
February 24: Xiaomi announces that the Mi Mix 3 5G smartphone will be available in May.
February 24: The LG V50 ThinQ 5G phone is coming to Verizon's 5G network this summer and to Sprint's network this spring.

February 23: OPPO announces a 5G smartphone that has a 48-megapixel camera with 10x lossless zoom, set to launch through Swisscom, Telstra, Optus, and Singtel in Q2 2019, and China Mobile in the summer.
February 22: The OnePlus 5G phone is coming to Finland via Elisa sometime in the second quarter of 2019.
February 21: Gemalto, a digital security company, announces a tamper-proof 5G SIM that they claim is "the only solution allowed to secure 5G network access."
February 20: EE partners with Samsung to bring the Galaxy S10 5G smartphone to the UK.
February 20: Samsung announces the Galaxy S10 5G smartphone. It will be available through Verizon exclusively during the first half of 2019, followed by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, and Xfinity Mobile in the summer.
February 20: Huawei reveals zero-footprint, full-outdoor, modular 5G equipment.
February 19: Movandi launches the BeamXR 5G repeater system intended to extend millimeter waves both indoors and outdoors.
February 19: Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X55, their second-generation 5G modem "designed to deliver breakthrough wireless performance and accelerate global 5G rollout." It's capable of peak download speeds of 7 Gbps and upload speeds of 3 Gbps.

February 18: Altaeros launches the SuperTower ST200, calling it the "world's first commercial aerial cell tower" that will accelerate 5G rollouts in rural areas.
January 30: LG is rumored to be announcing a 5G phone at the MWC Barcelona (Mobile World Congress) in February, called the LG V50 ThinQ 5G. It will have a 6-inch display, 4,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 855 chipset.
January 29: Telecom equipment company NetComm launches 5G FWA self-installation technology aimed at reducing the cost and time it takes to install fixed wireless access hardware.
January 27: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Nubia announces that they'll release a 5G smartphone in 2019.
January 24: Huawei releases a 5G base station core chip to "create a minimalist 5G."
January 24: Telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE announces the launch of 5G smartphones in the first half of 2019.
January 24: Huawei launches the Huawei 5G CPE Pro commercial 5G device powered by its multi-mode chipset Balong 5000.
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.
December 10: OPPO, a Chinese consumer electronics company and partner of China Mobile, unveils its Find X 5G phone prototype.

December 6: Xiaomi showcases the Mi Mix 3 phone that will be released with 5G capabilities in 2019.
December 6: Nokia and China Mobile launch a commercially ready, low-cost, 5G hybrid indoor radio solution aimed at satisfying high connectivity demands in busy areas.
December 5: Telstra unveils the HTC 5G Hub, their first commercial 5G device that will retail in Australia in 2019.
December 5: UK's EE announces that they'll be the first mobile network to provide the OnePlus 5G smartphone to customers.
December 5: Samsung and AT&T reveal a 5G smartphone that will be available in the second half of 2019. This will be their second 5G-capable phone and will be able to access both 5G mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum.
December 4: Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon 855, their new processor for 5G phones that will support up to 10 Gbps speeds, improve AI performance, enhance augmented reality, and more.
December 4: AT&T announces that a Samsung 5G phone will be released in early 2019 for use on its 5G network.

December 4: Verizon announces a standards-compliant 5G hotspot device that will launch in 2019.
December 3: Verizon and Samsung announce a partnership to bring a 5G smartphone to market in the first half of 2019.
November 29: Japanese glass manufacturer AGC develops a transparent 5G antenna, citing that it could be installed in a user's field of vision without disrupting sight or aesthetics.
November 29: Fujitsu unveils the world’s first single-panel, ultra-compact 5G antenna that can serve 2.5 Gb/s to four devices at once.
November 27: Sprint and HTC disclose a 5G mobile smart hub that'll be released in the first half of 2019.
October 29: OnePlus' CEO says that the company expects to launch a 5G phone in the first half of 2019.
October 16: Huawei says they're working on 5G foldable phones that will be released in 2019.
September 11: Vivo presents their goal of launching 5G smartphones by 2019.
August 2; Motorola announces a 5G-upgradable phone, the moto z³, which will be able to connect to Verizon's mobile 5G network in 2019 with the 5G moto mod.

New 5G Use Cases

Illustration of a boy playing with augmented reality — Designed by Freepik

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.

5G Will Change Everything... No, Really!

May 10: Shitai County People's Hospital conducts a remote surgery over a 5G network.
May 1: AT&T and LiveU team up to use 5G during live news and sports broadcasts.
April 29: SK Telecom plans to build HD, centimeter-level accurate 5G maps for self-driving vehicles.
April 26: China Unicom and ZTE help Shandong Lingong Group create a 5G-powered remote control excavator that could be used for intelligent mining.
April 16: Intel announces its intention to exit the 5G smartphone modem business.
April 15: SK Telecom announces plans to build a 5G-based "Smart Military Academy" for military training, fitness management, facility management, and more.
March 27: Sony and DOCOMO plan to perform a driverless vehicle trial in DOCOMO 5G Open Lab GUAM.
March 16: Surgeons use 5G technology to perform remote brain surgery on a patient over 1,500 miles away.
March 13: KDDI experiments with how 5G can help provide remote support for aircraft maintenance via live 4K video.
March 12: Spark's pre-commercial 5G network enables a driverless car developed by Ohmio Automotion to be put on the streets of Auckland, New Zealand, for the first time.

March 11: Verizon and Soul Machines demonstrate how 5G will help humanize virtual assistants.
March 4: 5G RuralFirst debuts the Me+Moo mobile app for iOS that lets you keep tabs on a real-life cow via 5G-enabled leg and collar sensors.
March 1: ZTE launches 5G Intelligent Venue Live Streaming Solution to create a new sports viewing experience.
February 28: Ericsson reveals the Broadband IoT Smart Vessel, a water quality testing and monitoring device, as a demonstration of what 5G will be capable of.
February 26: Cisco, Samsung, and Orange demonstrate a 5G-powered industrial robot and drone via a 5G router and 5G tablet.
February 26: Telstra announces collaboration with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Ericsson to explore how 5G edge computing can be used to improve banking.
February 24: Ooredoo showcases the 5G-enabled Aerial Taxi at MWC 2019.
February 23: Ericsson's 5G networks are used to make an international real-time AR video call between Singapore and Australia.
February 15: UK's Three announces a 5G mixed reality catwalk that they'll debut at London Fashion Week.

February 13: Vodafone Germany and public broadcaster WDR announce plans to test how 5G can be used to transmit TV and video-on-demand.
February 12: AT&T and VITAS Healthcare launch a study into how 5G can be used with AR and VR to help hospice patients deal with chronic pain and anxiety.
February 5: Hospital Clínic de Barcelona reveals that they'll use Vodafone's 5G network to connect surgeons worldwide in a telemedicine project.
January 31: Verizon engineers testing AI and edge computing on a 5G network in Houston, successfully cut latency in half.
January 29: Japanese telecom operator KDDI announces a partnership with Kyushu Institute of Technology where they will test 5G-powered industrial robot control.
January 17: 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.
December 6: Samsung announces an agreement to collaborate with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) to work on how 5G and other technologies can be used to bring autonomous driving to the country.
November 29: Japan’s DOCOMO announces the successful remote control operation of a Toyota humanoid robot using the company’s 5G network.

October 30: Finnish company Elisa partners with MegaSense from the University of Helsinki, to implement air-quality monitoring sensors in Elisa's 5G network in Helsinki.

5G Research, Investing, and Other News

Illustration of research and analysis with papers and a magnifying glass — Designed by Freepik

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.

May 21: Affirmed Networks launches the Affirmed UnityCloud 5G Standalone network core.
May 21: KPMG International predicts that 5G networks will unlock $4.3 trillion USD in economic value.
May 20: Wireless carrier Inland Cellular agrees to partner with Parallel Wireless to upgrade its network to prepare for 5G.
May 6: DataDirect Networks announces intent to acquire 5G Software Defined Storage company Nexenta.
May 1: 5G carriers in Korea garner 260 thousand subscribers in the first month.
April 30: South Korean university hospital Yonsei University Health System signs a Memorandum of Understanding with SK Telecom to build a 5G-powered hospital.
April 23: Nokia uses a 5G mixed reality testing environment (shown here) to speed up 5G deployments.
April 16: Verizon launches Built on 5G, a contest that will award the best 5G innovators a $1 million prize.
April 15: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission declares that 5G health concerns are unfounded.
April 12: The FCC announces a spectrum auction for December 10 as part of its 5G Fast plan.

April 10: Rogers Communications invests $1.7 billion USD in a 5G auction to ultimately provide coverage in every Canadian province and territory.
April 8: The University of Warwick's School of Engineering in England receives a £210,000 grant for the COCKPIT-5G project which aims to identify where 5G can be used to improve mobile network coverage.
April 4: Network infrastructure provider CommScope acquires telecom equipment manufacturer Arris, highlighting possible 5G potential for the future.
April 1: Brussels 5G deployment comes to a halt after 5G radiation fears.
March 25: The NFL and Verizon announce a two-year partnership to develop new 5G devices and services to enhance NFL games and fan experiences.
March 21: U Mobile partners with ZTE to accelerate 5G in Malaysia.
March 21: KT and Ericsson reach a deal to deploy 5G in Korea beginning in early April 2019.
March 20: CBRS Alliance's shared spectrum solution, OnGo, will have its specifications expanded to support 5G.
March 19: Germany launches 5G spectrum auction.

March 15: The FCC opens 95 GHz to 3 THz spectrum for post-5G experiments.
March 14: Sprint 5G Experience opens in their Kansas City headquarters to demonstrate how 5G will affect our lives and how 5G technology works.
March 12: Nokia and PLDT's Smart announce plans to develop 5G solutions that can be utilized in schools.
March 7: T-Mobile teases a fixed broadband alternative, explaining that by 2024, they plan to have 9.5 million customers using their in-home 5G services.
March 7: T-Mobile Austria acquires 110 MHz of spectrum for €57 million to be used in 12 regions, with 5G mobile sites set to launch in April.
March 5: U.S. Cellular reaches a 5G modernization deal with Nokia.
March 5: SoftBank and AeroVironment announce plans to launch a solar-powered drone that can deliver 5G from the sky.
February 28: Radio-frequency systems supplier and semiconductor company Qorvo announces that since January 2018, they've shipped out over 100 million RF devices for 5G wireless infrastructure components.
February 28: Telecom Egypt and Nokia agree to introduce a 5G network and test 5G use cases in Egypt.

February 28: U.S. Cellular selects Ericsson for 5G deployments under a multi-year contract designed to deliver 5G to its customers in the second half of 2019.
February 27: Ooredoo announces plans to accelerate its 5G network transformation across South East Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East with AI solutions.
February 27: LG Uplus (South Korea) and Elisa (Finland) agree to develop 5G together.
February 27: Chinese telecommunications company Sichuan Tianyi Comheart selects engineering company Aricent for its 5G base station and antenna framework.
February 26: Russian telecom company Tele2 Russia partners with Ericsson to upgrade its network to 5G by installing 50,000+ base stations over the next several years.
February 26: Ericsson lands 12 commercial 5G contracts from around the world.
February 26: AT&T and Vodafone Business team up to work on using 5G with autonomous vehicle technology.
February 26: China Unicom and Ericsson announce the development of a 5G smart harbor at the Port of Qingdao in China.

February 25: Sprint and Google announce that their MVNO partnership will include 5G services for Google Fi.
February 25: Ericsson aims to invests in 5G antenna technology through the acquisition of Kathrein's antenna and filter products division.
February 24: Cisco pledges $5B for 5G over the next three years.
February 22: NTT DATA and everis announce AW3D Telecom for 5G, a 3D digital map package to help network vendors and IoT companies plan 5G networks.
February 22: AT&T launches the AT&T 5G Innovation Program to bring new 5G ideas to life via content creators, device makers, and app developers.
February 21: Verizon reveals that more than 30 US cities will receive mobile 5G services in the first half of 2019.
February 21: Swiss telecom company Sunrise announces a 5G launch for March 2019 that will cover from 80 to 98 percent of 150 cities and villages, including Niederlenz and Bachenbülach.
February 21: O2 will launch 5G in the UK in 2019.
February 20: Syniverse launches a 5G signaling service to support mass connectivity.

February 20: Vodafone Spain connects for the first time a 3GPP standards-based 5G phone with their 5G network during video call tests between Barcelona and Madrid.
February 20: Nokia and MediaTek complete their first phase of 5G testing between Nokia's AirScale 5G base station and MediaTek's Helio M70 5G modem.
February 15: Turkcell, Turkey's largest mobile phone operator, announces a partnership with Huawei to build a 5G-oriented all-cloud clore network.
February 11: Verizon launches Let's 5G! for 5G advocates to sign and let their local elected officials know that they support the "immediate rollout of 5G wireless service" in their community.
February 8: Ericsson opens a 5G training facility in Texas.
February 6: Telstra will invest $160 million in hundreds of mobile network projects across Victoria, Australia, in 2019.
February 5: CommScope introduces a 3.5 GHz antenna to help increase 5G network capacity.
February 5: Zain Saudi Arabia and Nokia prepare for 5G deployment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a 4.9G pilot and 5G-ready massive MIMO antenna.

February 4: Fujitsu introduces the Smart xHaul plug-in transponder card that enables ISPs to leverage their existing 4G network to quickly support 5G services.
February 2: ZTE establishes a standard for unidentified network threat detection and defense in 5G networks.
January 31: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommends auctioning off 5G spectrum in June 2019.
January 30: AT&T applies for a six-month Special Temporary Authority for 5G FWA testing in Ohio and Tennessee.
January 29: Swiss telecom company Salt selects Nokia to roll out 5G to its customers.
January 29: Australian ISP TPG halts the rollout of their mobile network because of the ban the Australian government has placed on companies using Chinese equipment to build 5G networks.
January 28: LG announces plans to research 6G in KAIST Institute, a South Korean research university.
January 28: Fujitsu partners with BridgeWave Communications to combine its services with BridgeWave's high-capacity wireless backhaul system to more efficiently handle 5G traffic.

January 24: United Internet AG plans to take part in a 5G spectrum auction to become the fourth mobile network provider in Germany.
January 24: Gilat Satellite Networks launches 5G-ready satellite backhaul solution.
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.
January 14: Optus makes a first in Australia by completing a 5G data call in Dickson, Canberra, Australia, on 60 MHz using 3.5 GHz spectrum.
January 11: Austrian fixed and mobile network operator A1 Telekom Austria makes their first live 5G data connection in Gmünd.
January 11: The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) says that the prolonged US government shutdown could impact 5G rollout.
January 11: Cambodia's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications plans to roll out 5G Wi-Fi in the Angkor region of Siem Reap to speed up tourist processing and provide visitors with reliable internet.
January 10: Sprint, Nokia, and Qualcomm complete the world's first 5G data call using 2.5 GHz and Massive MIMO.
January 8: ExteNet Systems, a telecommunications infrastructure company, offers a franchise agreement to the city of Topeka, KS, to install antennas that wireless providers like Verizon and AT&T can rent to provide 5G services.

January 8: The city of Peachtree Corners, GA, announces that they'll use Sprint's 5G technology and Curiosity IoT in their test bed for new automotive technology.
January 8: AT&T announces plans to bring their 5G network to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, "in the coming months."
January 7: Intel, Ericsson, and T-Mobile achieve the world's first 5G data call and video call on the 600 MHz spectrum band, and confirms that the signal is capable of blanketing one thousand square miles via one tower.
January 3: T-Mobile and HarriX launch 5G Consumer Index to research what consumers think about 5G, like what they expect and what they're excited or worried about.
January 1: South Korea's SK Telecom announces their first live TV broadcast over a 5G network.
December 31: South Asia's Dialog Axiata telecom service provider reveals the completion of their first pre-commercial 5G transmission, exceeding speeds of 2 Gbps.
December 24: Australian telecom companies Vocus and Optus reach a 5G deal regarding access to 5G network resources and products, including Optus' Vividwireless fixed wireless access products.

December 21: mmWave products manufacturer Sivers IMA announces a joint project with RF power company Ampleon to develop a 5G base station chip.
December 20: Qualcomm, Telecom Italia (TIM), and Ericsson complete their first 5G video call in Europe using the mmWave spectrum.
December 19: Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission mandates the shutdown of 2G networks by October 31, 2019, in order to pave the way for 5G.
December 19: Electronics manufacturer Keysight, announces that they achieved a 5G data transfer using their 5G network emulation solutions and a Qualcomm 5G modem.
December 19: TIM and Sony Mobile sign an agreement that will help them accelerate 5G technology development in Italy.
December 19: Ericsson and Epiroc sign a collaboration agreement to use LTE and 5G technologies to help mining companies achieve optimal wireless connectivity in their operations.
December 18: Representatives from various aviation companies express concerns to the FCC about 5G frequencies interrupting their wireless systems that operate in similar frequencies.

December 17: TIM and LG sign a strategic collaboration agreement for 5G in Italy.
December 17: AT&T announces that after an agreement with Tillman Infrastructure in 2017, the company has built hundreds of new cell towers that AT&T can lease as part of the carrier's mobile 5G deployment.
December 13: Telecom operators Cellnex and Fastweb sign an agreement to deploy 5G in Italy.
December 13: Qualcomm and Vingroup's VinSmart sign multimode global patent license agreement. Qualcomm grants VinSmart a patent license to develop, manufacture, and sell branded multimode complete terminals like 5G smartphones.
December 13: Ericsson agrees to provide South Korea's SKT with 5G NR radio, baseband, and Ericsson Network Management systems for its 5G commercial launch.
December 12: Dense Air announces plans to offer neutral host 5G densification services in Australia to extend 5G coverage to hard-to-reach areas both indoors and outdoors.
December 12: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signs off on bills that make 5G implementation easier.

December 11: A formal agreement is made between Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and the Chulalongkorn University research university to collaborate on a 5G testing center. It will launch at the university in 2019 and will last two years.
December 10: Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reveal a method for selecting antenna designs for 5G hardware, which could boost network capacity while reducing costs.
December 10: Verizon reveals that 10,400 employees have accepted a voluntary separation offer as part of the company's plans to reorganize and focus on 5G.
December 6: JMA Wireless acquires PHAZR, a vRAN 5G technology provider headquartered in Allen, Texas.
December 3: Games developer Niantic explains that 5G networks will help accelerate their vision for next-gen augmented reality video games.
November 29: Chinese electronics company Oppo announces a 10 billion yuan investment into 5G, AI, and IoT research and development.

November 29: Palo Alto Networks announces a new type of firewall for 5G networks.
November 22: Vodafone plans to demonstrate how 5G can be used to track long-distance drone flights.