5G rolling out in Las Vegas as CES 2020 gets underway

“5G” was written in the sky Tuesday morning in Las Vegas as CES kicked off.

“Surrender 5G skeptics!” was among the skywritten messages that appeared above the Las Vegas Valley. It appeared to be from Inseego Corp., which is announcing its next-generation 5G product portfolio during the trade show.

5G service is set to be a major topic at CES this week as more carriers move toward offering the technology nationwide.

More than a dozen sessions will focus on 5G, with experts discussing how it will play into the future of robotics, internet of things devices, the health care industry and more.

For some conventiongoers, the technology will already be at their fingertips. 5G service has already started to roll out in select U.S. cities, including Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas definitely feels like a market that’s tailor-made to be an early-availability area for 5G type of networks and applications,” said Gartner mobile services analyst Bill Menezes.

5G is expected to result in download speeds that are 2,500 times faster than the average LTE download, according to a 2018 report from Goldman Sachs.

“These are kind of the building blocks for things like new app developments and new product developments,” said NPD Group consumer electronics analyst Ben Arnold. “This is the underpinning for everything we do as tech consumers. … 5G is a really big deal.”

T-Mobile launched 5G coverage in more than 5,000 cities and towns — including Las Vegas — in early December. The low-band spectrum’s waves can travel long distances and easily penetrate obstacles such as walls.

AT&T brought low-band 5G spectrum to Las Vegas in December. The company launched 5GE — short for 5G Evolution — in 2018, but this network is a form of LTE, not 5G.

Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato said the company lauched 5G in 31 cities last year, but hasn’t yet announced 5G in Las Vegas.

And Sprint, which is planning to merge with T-Mobile, has not announced any additional 5G plans beyond the nine markets in which it has already launched, which include Phoenix and Los Angeles.

“The carriers are working like crazy to continue expanding 5G coverage,” Menezes said. “It’ll accelerate over time.”

The rollouts don’t mean all customers will have instant access to 5G service, as most phones aren’t 5G compatible. With the cost of these new devices often falling into the $1,000 range, Menezes said it’ll take a while before 5G coverage becomes common among consumers.

“One of the big triggers is going to be when the 5G iPhone is available, but even then … that’ll take a while just because people are holding their old devices longer,” he said.

Apple isn’t expected to launch a phone equipped to handle the speeds until next year, according to tech publisher Digital Trends.

AT&T spokesman Scott Huscher said Las Vegas is seeing early rollouts because of its network readiness, spectrum availability and other factors.

And now that some carriers have started launching 5G in Las Vegas, there’s a competitive imperative for others to follow. Menezes said the addition of 5G could be beneficial to both locals and tourists.

“You’ve got such a density of population in a fairly concentrated area that’s commercially oriented,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunities to do different things both for consumers as well as businesses.”

The technology could result in a major tech upgrade in the hospitality industry, bringing in more internet of technology devices that could elevate guests’ experiences.

“You’re looking at making a giant hotel-casino a smart building where the temperature is monitored more closely (and) the lighting is all controlled on a more intelligent basis,” Menezes said.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@review-journal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.

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