Legit question : if we have not been doing any 5G work , how is VZ turning on 30 cities including NYC this year according to Engadget magazine ? Now I have known contractors are doing the work and unless I read the article wrong , they are rolling out soon . From article : It revealed the plan during an investor meeting Thursday, though didn't disclose the list of cities. Verizon already offers home broadband service via 5G in Los Angeles, Houston, Indianapolis and Sacramento. This month, it hinted at upcoming rollouts in New York City and Atlanta, as well as Medford, Massachusetts, suggesting Verizon will bring 5G to nearby Boston too. The provider plans to flip the switch on its mobile 5G network in the first half of this year, and it will expand its home 5G service to more markets later in 2019.
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30 small villages in 30 years
https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/verizon-appears-to-walk-back-5g-home-buildout-goal/d/d-id/749645?
Over a year invented in the commercial launch and I assure you that everything seen promoted is the output of our little digital potempkin village powered by 5Yee.
@ird, actually, it is 5g. The stuff that was put up in the original four markets was that "5g TF" that folks are whining about. The 30 markets will be the Official 3gpp 5g New Radio standard, just like AT&T and T-mob. VZ is planning on ripping out the old TF equipment and replacing it with NR stuff this year.
In major metropolitan areas (where VZ is LEC) VZ is using the existing outside plant fiber infrastructure for the backbone of 5G deployment. The antenna is presently installed by contractor. In non VZ LEC area it is probably all sub contracted out. VZ sells "dark fiber" to customers and bills them appropriately. In metropolitan 5G world we call them "dark fiber" because VZ wireless is lighting fiber and we are providing the fiber path. In major metropolitan areas where VZ is LEC it is very possible that the majority of work is done by VZ wireline union employees.
@1fim : yup , VZ not doing the work . Gonna make the next few years very interesting
Wireless engineer.
No VZ telco here. All my deployments have been with dark fiber providers. LEC not interested. CLEC are providing dark fiber, antenna and radio installations. On call maintenance provided.
Nothing to maintain.
@1lrg : fiber that VZ is not lighting up is unused , meaning dark fiber !
Sounds like most of you folks aren't CO plant. We call dark fiber circuits stuff that VZ wireline is not lighting up. It does not mean "unused fiber". In a nutshell we are bringing the 5G fiber from poles into VZ wireless COLOC. The antenna on pole is put up by contractor. The fiber from pole to central office and into COLOC is tested and accepted by VZ wireline union employees. Will the antenna on pole be VZ union work? Your guess is as good as mine. The 10G stuff is off Cisco stuff that we light up. Lot going in....
@wvc : we ain’t running it , contractors are .
What does Dark Fiber mean?
Toasted oats and roasted bran.
Or, maybe, a dietetically-aware Super Villain?
I'm sure we are running fiber (call it dark fiber or whatever) everywhere to light plant for 5G. Wireless networks only work with wired back-haul. and the scale/scope of 5G will require a lot of fiber and/or a lot of 5G small cell mesh deployments. I'm assuming our strategy would be not to market this (initially) where we already have FiOS.
Definition - What does Dark Fiber mean?
Dark fiber is unused optical fiber that has been laid but is not currently being used in fiber-optic communications.
Dark fiber is unused fiber
Dark fiber is where a 3rd party installs the fiber for us, but doesn't provide any service on the fiber, which requires light. Hence the "dark" fiber. We then light the fiber with our own equipment.
Lightpoles antennas are done by ibew electricians. Not cwa
"And I don’t think you put in “dark fiber “ , that is the unused fiber ."
That struck me as odd too. Phone companies don't usually brag about installing unused fiber.
@mbi : the antennas are everywhere and we haven’t been doing the work . And I don’t think you put in “dark fiber “ , that is the unused fiber .
It's not the real 5G. Two years back, verizon came up with their own 5G Vz standard which is not really 5G but still mainly 4G. But they can market it as 5G cause it was their own hashed up 5G standard. The real 5G won't come out until next year. Nokia and Ericsson are still in the trial phase and slowly getting into the product development phase.
Vz standard is called 5G Vz
ATT is called 5GE (enhanced)
Neither of these are the real 5G. It's all about marketing and customers get fooled cause they don't do the real 5G development. Only the 5G development engineers know what's the real 5G. Let me just say, they're aren't any 5G capable cell phone out there yet.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/5g-capable-phones/
it is all smoke and mirrors
In places such as Manhattan all you need to do is look up at the light poles and you will see the 5G antennas. They are everywhere. We are putting in dark fiber and 10G circuits like crazy. They are all fibered into central offices and handed off to super "routers". Its here and it is getting ready to roll. BTW VZ union employee and it appears most work is done by us.