Ted Ross, Chief Information Officer for LA has claimed that in the future, with the assistance of 5G technology, cities will have the capacity to provide much better public safety and trash collection services.  Ross believes that this technology enables “more livable, equitable and sustainable living.”

He said:

“5G allows us an ultra-high speed connectivity that not only gives us better information of what our communities need when they ask for it, but also gives it the ability to deploy in a very efficient way. By proactively knowing when there’s an issue in the city, whether it’s a situation that needs police, or a situation that needs a pothole filled, it allows us to proactively respond and deliver it without a citizen never having to ask for it.”

It looks like this will be happening earlier rather than later.  Verizon recently announced that with the collaboration of Motorola, Qualcomm and Samsung, it was able to connect a smartphone to its 5G network. A trial was conducted using a Motorola Moto Z3 using a 5G moto mod, Verizon’s 28GHz millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum, Samsung’s 5G New Radio (NR) solutions, a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem, and Qualcomm’s QTM052 mmWave antenna modules.  According to Bill Stone, VP of Technology and Planning at Verizon, the test – which was successful – expands its lead on 5G, and as such, they will be “the first to offer a 5G-upgradeable smartphone on [its] network in 2019.”