Las Vegas — How close are we to true 5G? Only time will tell, but Verizon painted an interesting picture of what life may be like with 5G at its keynote address during CES 2019 on Tuesday. Verizon CEO, Hans Vestberg helped showcase a number of 5G centered projects the company has planned, however, collaborators noted the results of many endeavors may not be apparent until CES 2020.

@verizon also chatted with it's first 5G customer during the #verizonkeynote at #CES2019 #verizon5G pic.twitter.com/VptYcKMQhu

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

Verizon spoke with its first 5G customer, an at-home worker named Clayton from Houston, Texas, who said he is satisfied with the network speeds he gets with his 5G service. However, when he did a speed test of his network it registered at 690 megabytes per second (Mbps). The current 5G standard is defined at approximately 1.2 gigabits per second (GBps). This took place just weeks after it came to light that AT&T was marketing its elevated 4G LTE networks at 5G.

Still, many companies, including Verizon are invested in 5G as a method of improving the technology that envelopes our lives. Vestberg details several “currencies” that make up Verizon’s deployment of 5G.

@nytimes discussed its collaboration with @verizon to use 5G to maximize it's journalism and business #CES2019 #verizon5G #verizonkeynote pic.twitter.com/ViOF020JXP

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

Verizon’s collaboration with the New York Times showcases an artistic and journalistic use case for 5G. The publication has established a journalism 5G lab aimed that improving how journalists gatherer news. Over several years, we’ve seen how journalists can use video, social media, and other platforms to get their content out. Verizon suggests its 5G networks can help journalists bring richer more immediate news instantaneously, with the aspect of helping readers and viewers to get as close to the story as the reporter.

#WaltDisneyStudios collaboration with @verizon for it's next gen of artistry and content creation pic.twitter.com/xTfBgSGNSR

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

Verizon is similarly collaborating with Walt Disney Studios to help artists and filmmakers to use 5G to improve its production speed, detail, and accuracy. During the keynote, Verizon noted how several icon films, including Snow White, Toy Story, and Avengers: Infinity War coincided with technology innovations that helped the movies come to fruition. The aim is that 5G will do the same for future entertainment. 

@verizon CEO Hans Vestberg flies drone in LA from The Venetian in Las Vegas @SkywardIO #verizon5G #verizonkeynote #CES2019 pic.twitter.com/dbdvb7hhMw

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

Verizon has also collaborated with and acquired the drone company, Skyward — to improve the deployment of drones for technical and practical usage. The company was established when drone flight was still illegal, but it has grown to use cases as aiding in construction. Other uses cases may include surveying disaster areas, such as post-hurricane or fire locations. More practical cases may include shipping cargo to various areas, whether they remote locations or to the doorstep of the average consumer. 

#verizon5G use case – High speed and low latency for displaying live imaging of patient graphs and scans to aid in detailed surgery #verizonkeynote #CES2019 pic.twitter.com/ZXDAUljtta

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

Verizon also sees the medical implementation for 5G. The company Medvis showcased how 5G could assist doctors in using 3D scans during surgery for more accurate techniques.

@kylekuzma uses VR goggles powered by #verizon5G to play dunk game – 119 points – says it feels like he didn't have on goggles #verizonkeynote #CES2019 pic.twitter.com/nNXPqOOV7r

— Fionna Trailblazing through CES 2019 👌 (@techiesupreme) January 9, 2019

For a more fun implementation, Verizon also showcased how 5G can be used for games, having a professional basketball player shoot hoops while answering questions in a 5G powered VR headset. The demonstration shows how optimal 5G would allow users to have a gaming experience with little to no lag or latency.