1 March 2019

THIS TELECOM UPSTART’S 5G TECH GETS A BOOST FROM FACEBOOK


AT&T AND VERIZON are slowly trickling out the next generation of wireless networks, known as 5G, in parts of a few cities. But even as the major carriers prepare larger 5G launches, San Francisco based startup Common Networks is hoping that it can compete with bigger telecom companies by combining 5G with technology open sourced by Facebook.

Common Networks is using 5G to offer home, as opposed to mobile, broadband, essentially competing with internet providers such as AT&T and Comcast. In the city of Alameda, next to Oakland, it has been quietly using a core 5G technology, millimeter wave, to deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second, equivalent to Google Fiber's signature home broadband service, for $50 a month. These sorts of wireless speeds aren't unheard of. Webpass, a company Google Fiber acquired in 2016, offers gigabit wireless in several cities. But Common Networks CEO Zach Brock thinks his company has found a way to build 5G networks more quickly, and cheaply, than the competition and says the company plans to expand quickly. “We want to bring faster internet to everyone,” he says.

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