Wheeler Goes to New Jersey To See Verizon 5G Field Tests

Chairman Tom Wheeler and other top FCC officials went on a field trip to Verizon’s headquarters in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Feb. 12, to see the carrier’s early field trials of 5G technology, the carrier said. “Verizon provided an overview of Verizon’s plans for 5G and the current status of several field trials in various geographies and showed these FCC officials a live demo of a Samsung base station with both fixed and mobile equipment,” Verizon said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 14-177. Wheeler also met with Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, the carrier said. “Mr. McAdam emphasized the importance of the FCC acting quickly to make the spectrum bands above 24 GHz available for mobile broadband,” Verizon said. “Mr. McAdam reiterated that Verizon supports the FCC’s primary proposal to grant flexible use rights to existing licensees in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands and to auction the FCC-held licenses. Mr. McAdam asked for the FCC to move quickly to order and to make this spectrum available for 5G as soon as possible.”