AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is testing 5G technology with DirecTV this year.
The carrier has announced that it will be examining how the new technology will work through DirecTV in Austin, Texas households. 5G refers to the next generation of wireless connectivity, which is slated to be 10 to 100 times faster than current 4G LTE connections.
This amounts to speeds of up to 14 gigabits per second, according to lab tests. The speed would be quite huge for consumers who want to stream or download movies and shows via wireless connections.
The tests will help to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the technology, which will be followed up with ways for AT&T and other companies to find commercial ways of using 5G connections.
There are some cutting-edge technologies that will be aided greatly by 5G, including autonomous driving vehicles, virtual reality products, robotics, smart cities and more.
If 5G is in fact as fast as we all hope, AT&T believes that it can make a service that will allow you to stream videos and movies so quickly that it will compete with existing cable giants.
“Our approach is simple – deliver a unified experience built with 5G, software-defined networking (SDN), Big Data, security and open source software,” said John Donovan, Chief Strategy Officer and Group President, AT&T Technology and Operations.
He added that the technology will be software-centric.
T shares fell 0.6% Wednesday.
