- Dell’Oro’s Dave Bolan spotted Verizon’s 5G SA in the wild
- Bolan noted it was available on 3700 MHz and 850 MHz bands in California
- 5G SA finally appears to be up and running for all three major MNOs in the US
Verizon’s consumer 5G standalone (5G SA) network was spotted in operation in the wild by Dell’Oro Group director Dave Bolan ahead of the introduction of Apple’s Ultra 3 5G smartwatch.
The new wearable uses the Reduced Capability (RedCap) specification, which can only run on 5G SA networks, and uses far less power than standard 5G devices.
“I can confirm 5G SA on Verizon Wireless is up and running in Redwood City, CA for consumers,” Bolan told Fierce. “While I am not sure when the service was turned on, I noticed 5G SA service on September 18th, the day before the new Apple Watch Ultra launched.”
“I have seen 5G SA available on the 3700 MHz mid-band spectrum as well as in the 850 MHz band, giving wide coverage for the new 5G Smartwatches by Apple. Of course, the watches also have LTE and can still operate where there is no 5G SA coverage,” he continued.
Bolan also sent Fierce pictures of the 5G SA network in operation from his Samsung Galaxy Ultra 24. He wrote that a speed test for the 3700 MHz band showed a 977 Mbps download speed on 5G SA.
Verizon's rivals
T-Mobile has had a nationwide 5G SA network in operation since August 2020 and will support the Apple smartwatches with RedCap. In contrast, AT&T and Verizon – as Bolan noted – have only recently switched on 5G SA capabilities for consumers.
AT&T has told Fierce that the new 5G Apple smartwatches will be supported by RedCap. The operator launched its 5G RedCap IoT network nationwide in July.
"AT&T’s 5G SA network is deployed nationwide, and we are moving customers onto it every day," AT&T told Fierce in a statement earlier this month. "Today, select services already use 5G SA coast-to-coast. We are expanding availability to more customers as device support and provisioning allow."
Verizon also promised to support the 5G Apple smartwatches with RedCap. The operator has lauded its “robust, nationwide 5G standalone core” for supporting the technology.