SYRACUSE, NY (NCC NEWS)- 5G Ultra Wideband is Live in Syracuse today and is the first city in Central New York to implement the new technology. The technology will bring consumers faster speeds on devices, which could improve communication between firefighters, give citizens the option of telemedicine, and give students a more reliable network for remote learning. Syracuse is the only city in Central New York with 5G technology. Verizon Communication Manager David Weissmann,says Syracuse is an appealing city for 5G.
“Syracuse because of the business community there as well as the education institutions like Syracuse University, is an attractive place to build technology that’s going to change the future,” said Weissman.
The capabilities of 5G extend far beyond faster speeds. The difference maker in the 5G Ultra Wideband service is the millimeter wave technology which allows it to be 25 times faster than 4G. Weissman says having a 5G network in a community can help with public safety, remote learning, and telemedicine.
“We have seen in our 5G labs the different applications from a public safety perspective in terms of getting information to firefighters in real time, to be able to enter buildings or not enter buildings, to get camera images from buildings, among many other applications we’ve seen in our labs,” said Weissman.
For students who do not have wifi,5G can assist with remote learning. Verizon implemented 5G in Chicago in 2019 and says 5G can deliver data up to 4GB per second now, which is faster than any home wifi connection.
“Students and families with a 5G handset wouldn’t need to rely on the wifi connectivity to do remote learning, as long as they’re in a 5G coverage area,” said Weissman.
Telemedicine is also changing with 5G technology being implemented, said Weissmann. Weissman says no one would’ve thought to do things such as physical therapy from home, but after the pandemic the outlook on telemedicine changed.
“Once the pandemic struck we saw that telemedicine is more than just being able to talk to your doctor on your phone. “Whether it’s physical therapy remotely that 5G can enable in real time, or even remote robotic surgeries which is in the promise of 5G, from a medical perspective, from a public safety perspective it has opened different avenues which were not possible previously,” said Weissmann.
