5 Days of 5G Firsts: Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, Samsung

5G networks are coming and almost every player in the mobile ecosystem wants a bigger slice of the action. With that comes a seemingly perpetual quest to be first. First with a smartphone, first with a base station or small cell, a network, or a chipset. Better yet, a smartphone connecting to a live network. Some bonafide 5G firsts have already occurred, but many more have yet to come. 5G is everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. In a new report about the race to 5G and how to measure success, independent analyst and consultant Chetan Sharma wrote: “There is clearly too much hype, much more than the past, a lot of misunderstanding, plenty of fear-mongering, and no clear consensus on the measurement framework.”