5G is going to be one of the biggest trends of 2019, with many manufacturers and carriers finally starting to dabble in the advanced network tech. Consumers are interested, after all, so why not jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible?
Now for many of us we'll still be waiting for a while before 5G networks actually get deployed to our locations, but the hardware has to happen first.
HTC and Sprint have announced a collaboration that will see the two create a 5G capable smart hub that will be available in the first half of 2019, and it will work on Sprint's 5G network as soon as its available. It's also using Qualcomm's blazing X50 modem, so you can expect some serious speeds out of it, network permitting.
This smart hub device will serve as a 5G backbone to a user's home network, allowing for faster downloads and better streaming, plus use more bandwidth for all of the devices around the house, including IoT gadgets.
As of right now Sprint has only announced nine 5G locations (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.) but that's par the course for brand new networks and it should grow pretty rapidly over the next few years.
source: Sprint
So is Sprint going to continue to be run as its own network? And have its own individual MVNO? Or are they going to be folded into Big Magenta?