Verizon enlists Boingo to help it bring 5G indoors
At least to public spaces like airports, office buildings and stadiums.
Sure, real 5G is up to three times faster than LTE, but there are a few caveats. As we discovered in Chicago, 5G doesn't always hold up when you're trying to use it indoors. Even a pane of glass can cause your signal to flicker between 5G and 4G. Verizon (Engadget's parent company) and Boingo are hoping to change that. The companies are working together to bring 5G Ultra Wideband service to indoor public spaces, like airports, office buildings and stadiums.
According to a press release, "Verizon and Boingo are working together to architect a hyper-dense network designed for large and small indoor spaces." In other words, they want to improve 5G indoors. Boingo is a logical partner, as it claims to have more than a million wireless hotspots in large venues like airports, military bases, stadiums and universities. It's been trying to improve internet access in airports for years, and you may remember its Wi-Finder app. We don't know yet which indoor public spaces will get the 5G boost first.
Verizon also announced that it's expanding its 5G service to the greater Phoenix area on August 23rd, making Phoenix the company's 10th 5G Ultra Wideband city. And if you live in one of those 10 cities, you might be happy to hear that the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G is available in stores and online tomorrow, as well.
