Massive MIMO Map 2305G is here, Verizon has installed "hundreds": of mmWave cells, per CEO Lowell McAdam. Korea Telecom is building rapidly a system along Highway 50, ready to astound the world at the Olympics in February. Massive MIMO is expanding rapidly. Softbank in Japan and China Mobile are installing thousands of towers, Bharti in India has now joined. Sprint in the U.S., Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom are building and will soon have major announcements. I predict huge growth in M MIMO in 2018 & 2019. 

mmWave map Oct 2017 230These are not tests. Nor are they "trials," of which there are hundreds. Countries only go on these maps when I'm confident they are building and ready to serve customers. Updates and improvements very welcome.

dave askAugust 2018 Verizon's $20B 5G build is starting to add customers in 2018. Gigabit LTE & Massive MIMO became real in 2017 and enow expanding worldwide. Almost all the other "5G" is mid-band, 70%-90% slower + hype. Europe is mostly pr. The term 5G has been bastardized, unfortunately.

Being a reporter is a great job for a geek. I'm not an engineer but I've learned from some of the best, including the primary inventors of DSL, cable modems, MIMO, Massive MIMO, and now 5G mmWave. Since 1999, I've done my best to get closer to the truth about broadband.

Send questions and news to Dave Burstein, Editor. I always want to hear from you, especially if you catch a mistake.

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 5G Why Verizon thinks differently and what to do about it is a new report I wrote for STL Partners and their clients.

STL Partners, a British consulting outfit I respect, commissioned me to ask why. That report is now out. If you're a client, download it here. If not, and corporate priced research is interesting to you, ask me to introduce you to one of the principals.

It was fascinating work because the answers aren't obvious. Lowell McAdam's company is spending $20B to cover 30M+ homes in the first stage. The progress in low & mid-band, both "4G" and "5G," has been remarkable. In most territories, millimeter wave will not be necessary to meet expected demand.

McAdam sees a little further. mmWave has 3-4X the capacity of low and mid-band. He sees an enormous marketing advantage: unlimited services, even less congestion, reputation as the best network. Verizon testing found mmWave rate/reach was twice what had been estimated. All prior cost estimates need revision.

My take: even if mmWave doesn't fit in your current budget, telcos should expand trials and training to be ready as things change. The new cost estimates may be low enough to change your mind.