Sprint and LG could win the race to release the first 5G smartphone.
The telecom giant announced Tuesday that it’s partnering with LG to launch a 5G-ready smartphone exclusive to Sprint in the first half of 2019.
The phone will be released alongside the roll out of Sprint’s planned 5G network, which will be available in the beginning of 2019 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington D.C.
Sprint and LG could win the race to release the first 5G smartphone. The firm said Tuesday it’s partnering with LG to launch a 5G-ready smartphone exclusive to Sprint in early 2019
The price of the phone and exact launch date will be announced later, Sprint said in a news release.
‘Sprint is moving fast on the road to 5G and we are thrilled to announce the first 5G smartphone with the innovative team at LG,’ John Saw, Sprint’s chief technology officer, said in a statement.
‘Today’s announcement brings us one step closer to putting a beautifully-designed advanced 5G smartphone in our customer’s hands.
‘And we’re excited to revolutionize the mobile industry as we dramatically improve the way Sprint customers work, play and stay connected,’ he added.
Sprint said its multi-in, multi-out (MIMO) technology is what powers its 5G network.
This enables cell sites to deliver speeds that are up to 10 times faster than current LTE systems, ‘significantly increasing data speeds for more customers in high-traffic locations,’ the firm added.

The price of the phone and exact launch date will be announced later, Sprint said in a news release. It’s unclear what the phone will look like, beyond that it will be a premium device
Sprint is working to persuade antitrust regulators to approve its merger with larger rival T-Mobile US in a $26 billion deal, which the companies say will help them more quickly build the next-generation wireless network.
That network is expected to eventually pave the way for new technologies like autonomous cars.
The LG phone will be customized to Sprint’s planned 5G network, and will be compatible with T-Mobile only on that carrier’s existing 4G network, John Tudhope, Sprint director of product development, said in an interview with Reuters.
Last month, Sprint introduced new unlimited wireless plans bundled with video streaming platform Hulu and music streaming service Tidal, in an effort to attract more customers with media content.
Tudhope said Sprint will continue to use content as a way to ‘bring to life the value of 5G,’ as one of the benefits of the 5G network will be faster download times of video content on smartphones.
Sprint is the fourth-largest cellphone service provider in terms of number of customers, after Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

The phone will be released alongside the roll out of Sprint’s planned 5G network, which will be available in the beginning of 2019 in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington D.C.
Sprint isn’t the only carrier exploring 5G networks. Verizon has detailed a 5G Moto Mod network that would be used on its Motorola Moto Z3 phone.
Meanwhile, AT&T hopes to create a 5G hotspot in several areas around the US this year.
T-Mobile in July announced it had tapped Nokia to supply it with next-generation 5G network gear.
The firm said the multiyear supply deal with Nokia will deliver the first nationwide 5G services.