By Pete Carey, siliconbeat
A passel of tech companies including Intel, Cisco and Ericsson announced collaborations around Verizon’s 5G roadmap initiative Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The hope is that 5G will replace the current 4G cellular technology, bring much faster speeds and connectivity to mobile devices. More than 98 percent of the U.S. population has access to 4G, according to Verizon.
Intel said in a release that it was teaming up with Ericsson, KT, Ericsson, Nokia SK Telecom and Verizon “to help lay the foundation for 5G.”
Intel said it is conducting field trials for 5G wireless through Verizon’s 5G Technology Forum to demonstrate how the new technology would deliver speeds “an order of magnitude higher than today’s cellular networks.”
Also Monday, Cisco announced a 5G collaboration with Ericsson, with which it recently signed a agreement for various initiatives. The two companies will “develop and trial what is expected to be the industry’s first 5G router,” Cisco said.