Hoboken became the first city in New Jersey to gain access to 5G connectivity when Verizon announced its 5G Ultra Wideband network was available.
Hoboken is the 21st city in the country to gain access to what many believe is game-changing technology.
Verizon said those in Hoboken will now have near real-time mobile experiences with super-fast speeds, ultra-low latency and massive bandwidth. More specifically, Verizon said customers will now be able to stream 4K videos with virtually no buffering, video chat with almost no lag and download large presentations.
The Piscataway-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE, said 5G technology offers unlimited potential to vastly improve our lives.
“This combination of cutting-edge network technology and the very latest research will provide faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other mobile devices than ever before,” it wrote in a blog post.
IEEE bills itself as the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. The IEEE site said there are three key benefits of 5G networks:
- Much higher data rates (1-20 Gbit/s), enabling consumers to download content more quickly;
- Much lower latency (1 ms), allowing users to experience less delay/lag when requesting data from the network — a latency of milliseconds, imperceptible to humans;
- Increased capacity as the network expands.
Gov. Phil Murphy applauded the achievement.
“New Jersey has a proud history of innovation, and today’s announcement regarding Hoboken’s expanded access to 5G is indicative of the upward trajectory of our state,” he said in a statement. “The expansion announced today is further evidence that we are committed to being one of the most connected states in the nation.”
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Bracken said 5G will have an impact on economic development.
“Nothing is more critical to business and to an innovation economy than high speed, high-capacity and reliable communications,” he said in a statement. “Verizon’s new generation of communications capabilities is exactly what New Jersey needs to be competitive and to attract and retain businesses.”
According to IEEE, 5G networks, working alongside existing 3G and 4G technology, will help power a huge rise of Internet of Things innovations, providing the infrastructure needed to carry huge amounts of data and allowing for an even smarter, more connected world. Speedier connections that stay online no matter where you are and average download speeds of around 1 GBps are expected to be the norm.
According to Verizon, 5G Ultra Wideband service will be concentrated on Willow Ave between 1st and 16th streets; 5th Street between Marshall Drive and Garden Street, and Adams Street between 2nd and 7th streets. It will also be located around landmarks such as: Hoboken University Medical Center, Church Square Park, Hoboken Public Library and Mama Johnson Field.
When customers move outside Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area, the 5G-enabled device transitions to Verizon’s 4G network.
