5G Service Available in 50% of USA by 2021 says Verizon CEO

Verizon CEO, Hans Vestberg, was on CNBC earlier today talking about Q2 earnings. During the interview, the focus shifted to 5G technology for a bit.

In the 5G segment, Vertberg said he thinks 5G service will be available in half to the country (U.S. only) by next year, in 2024.  And on top of that, he thinks half of the U.S. population will be on 5G capable phones by 2024.

5G phones will likely still go through its bumps and bruise while coming out of the gate.  Andrew Ross Sorkin pointed out the piece on the WSJ which talks about its review on the early generation of 5G phone have heating issues.  The phones reportedly got so hot, the reporter had to put the phone in the cooler to prevent the phone from heating up, which would shut down the phone.

Check out clip from CNBC below, we’re also including the transcript in case you can’t see the video. All rights belong to CNBC and please refer all credits to CNBC.

Yeah, very happy tohave Hans Vestberg, the chairman and CEO of a rise in here. Of course,

there were on West Street, so not too far a walk for you. It’s one year since you began as the company’s CEO. He took over as chairman.

beginning this year. How do you view your own performance during the course of a year? And what did you find? That you didn’t think you?

what was unexpected In terms of the experience so?

far? I think that should probably know put the performance on myself. But in general, we have done a lot of changes in the company and the new structure, building the network differently with a very big voluntary programme that almost ten thousand four hundred piece left us. We’re changing the brand of the company, so everybody’s Verizon right now a ll that, and we still deliver very good results. I think that’s what I’m really proud of. The team has in this transformation, and so much change is probably more than we’re done the last five years or ten years in one year on. We still deliver the results today and also had a good result in the first.

thing. I want to talk about those results. You really think you’ve accelerated changes? Muchas just had five or ten years in one year.

Yeah, yeah. Remember First will be decided to build the network told different collapse The world on African made one network in one night the organisation Because that’s our real assets in the company building the best network in this.

continent. And then, of course we changed How we how we both report and how we’re structured in rising consumer group, business group and media group We also changed the name So everybody’s rights on which is not a small thing, I can tell you And then we had quite a large transformation When police I think in one year seventeen thousand people has left right s Oh, it’s a big change in the company on stage with the Neighbouring good results and building foggy.

Yeah, well, we’ll see how the market response to those results a couple of hours from now. Likely to be positive. We can see there at least in the early going here. The stocks appears to be up. You added three hundred twenty five thousand retail postpaid net additions in business segment, including hundred seventy two thousand phone net additions. Total revenue. Twenty two billion in consumer one hundred twenty six thousand Retail. Post Net additions,

It’s rare to see that many additions Frank, are you taking share from some of your competitors?

I think in this quarter who had the strongest growth addition is this quarter. We have the good net addition or phone subscribers basically two hundred forty five thousand. So yes, we grew year of year. We grew sequentially something and at same time where the very strong bottom line with one point twenty three owning, owning a share.

and you’re even You’re talking about growth again. I mean, listen, we’re not talking about blowing the cover off the ball here, but for a while, right? Bryson’s revenue weren’t wasn’t growing enough. And now you are again.

Absolutely, and I think the service revenue is not growing with over three percent in a tough competitive market. But I think the team is doing great work.

Do you think is going to become a more competitive market? With the merger of Sprint and T Mobile and the addition of a dish wireless,

it’s going to be different for sure.

probably have some hurt his left. But now it looks like they’re going to come together. And of course, that’s gonna be different. One new merger and fourth entrance in the market on our work. We will not change our strategy. We will just continue to execute on what we have. And I used to say When we spend this year between seventeen toe eighteen billion dollars in KPIX, I think we have the best engineers in the industry off tuning and fixing networks. Now the guys need to really do little things to catch up on. We will use timer even faster.

You know, John Ledger always says, I mean, I guess cause you guys clueless says that it’s, you know, the five G,

particularly millimetre wave in terms of delivering five G because you’re focused on urban areas or so they say,

is not a full strategy. How do you respond to that criticism?

I think we have wondered, responded to it. First of all, our five G that we’re building right now ultra wideband we have in nine cities were going to thirty cities this year. Contract that is capacity. That’s where the most of the traffic please. So that’s what we do in the fall. You alter wide runway millimetre. Wait. We have old assets to do coverage as well, but we will do it when it’s good for the customers.

What is that?

That means that you’re gonna deploy five years, and the spectrum or spectral fired you today all spectrums of forty. And I think that people don’t really grasp how technology works. Because ultimately, when the phone comes out, it’s going around the north spectrum. And when you can get some new software features and enough hands, it’s out there. We’re going to have a.

metre wave going to deliver everything you say it’s going to. Is it working? And, by the way, what? You’re gonna have to use the low band spectrum in the rural areas, aren’t you? You have enough of that?

Yes. That’s how it works. Yeah, we have old assets. We need to make the continue to have the best network in the market. And interesting is also we’re concluding the process off walks in here, and we were winning some. But remember all other competitors, also buying the meat the way so and all hands as a millimetre wave. So I think that it’s clear to get the best out of five millimetre wave. Give you enormous true put speeds. And Layton’s is. So don’t forget that sometimes you talk a little bit too much about that. Five years for consumers only. It’s great, but think about Jews case of enterprises when we’re gonna have low latest enormous troop private five, the network that’s merely meat away. I think we’re very good happy with me and Mary. That doesn’t mean we will have a coverage drafted.

right. We talk often about the Internet of things and the way it’s going to really transform so much in terms of the way business is done. I know Andrew’s got a question for you Back back in. The Nasdaq entered.

Hey, got a couple questions for you. The first is, and it’s on the five g issue. You probably saw the article in The Wall Street Journal a couple weeks ago now, maybe two weeks ago, where they were reviewing the current lot of five G phones and networks that are out there. And one of the things that they found was at least in this current early generation, you literally had to take the phone and keep it in a cooler after a couple of minutes on five G because it got so hot.

that you couldn’t hold onto the phone. Otherwise you would shut down.

How soon do you really think that this technology is going to be available? And have you seen a phone that doesn’t get too hot yet?

Yes, absolutely. We have several that don’t get the whole. But of course, in the beginning, or technology can find those type of things. And that’s why we when we lose, we lose one to market to see that it’s really working. Now we’re actually deploying in all markets with all our vendors on infrastructure, on with four different devices. So it is actually start working very well. And remember, in the beginning we had six hundred megabits per seconds on the phones. Use for comparison. Maybe have fifty, two hundred and forty. Right now we have to dig. So only in the six to eight weeks we have been launching, we learn, and we do it. Improvement on the software constantly on. Then, as I was around when forty came, I think that for you took much longer time actually.

reached those improvements. So I see a good tractor and the whole industries behind it.

Realistically, what, realistically in your mind, what is the true time line where they’re gonna be functional phones running on five g in, let’s say, even.

fifty percent of the country.

I think that’s going to be next year because it is a functionality called the S s dynamic. Spectrum sharing were basically it’s agnostic to type of phone. You have a forty three year five, and that’s when you get.

to know. But I’m asking. I’m asking a slightly different question fifty percent of the country where you’re actually be able to use a five g phone running, actually on five G. And it’s not overheating on you,

That’s I think, is gonna be next year.

That’s what I said before, and I remember the prediction is that twenty twenty for fifty percent of the population will have fired your phone. Don’t forget that forty is an extremely powerful technology as well, and we need to cater for well, our customers with the best network that would have.

let me turn back to the wireless market. Overall, you know, Comcast, our parent company slowly but surely adding some customers. One point nine million wireless subs, I think under the M V N o.

Do they, in your mind become a real competitors? Well,

off course, their competitors. But it’s also important because they’re using our network. The whole idea with our networking service strategies that we will have a lot of porters we’re doing. Our old owns customer services in some cases where partners and sometimes they’re using our assets. And that’s how we work.

How are you going to look back at this period? You know, some say that will, Really. It’s been a duopoly. You on eighteen, Verizon and AT and T. You’ve been able to maintain sort of price discipline for some period of time, and a lot of promises have been made by T Mobile and Sprint to get their dailies past. The DOJ obviously significant investors as well, and the FCC has agreed they make an argument that there really coming after you with a capital structure that is going allow them to compete in a way that they haven’t previously. Do you anticipate things going to become more competitive? And what about if a dish comes in with the deep pocketed partner and decides to really cut price when they finally get their five g network.

First of all, it is a competitive Morgan ambiance over a long time, and and I think what variety has done. We’re constantly been leading this market and continue to innovate on golf course. We’re doing this transformation from a position of strength in order to continue to use our discipline that we always have done. When it comes to capital allocation on gone efficiency, you know what it took to stay on the top and we’re gonna be prepared for whatever is coming. So But again, I go back to say we are.

putting eighteen billion or seventeen billion US dollars in in the network every year. Andi will continue to do so.