The technology that will make your phone's internet 50 times faster is arriving much sooner than we thought

Verizon announced that it will begin field trials of 5G (fifth-generation) wireless technology within the next year, with plans to roll it out to customers by 2017.

Verizon's chief information officer, Roger Gurnani, said he expects "some level" of commercial deployment by 2017, much earlier than the 2020 rollout some had estimated, CNET reports.

If Verizon's trials do start in the next year, it will mean Verizon will be the first carrier in the world to make significant moves into 5G, a technology that is expected to radically alter the industry.

5G will not only have speeds that are 30 to 50 times faster than 4G, but also be more power efficient, so devices will last 10 times longer, CNET reports.

"The future is going to bring more stuff that I can't really describe," Gurnani said according to CNET. "We can't possibly envision the full range of disruptive products and services. But we have some possibilities."

Gurnani declined to specify how many markets 5G would roll out to in 2017, saying it was too early to discuss those types of plans.

And what will need to be in place for the rollout?

"For technical trials themselves, we have what we need," Gurnani said. "Beyond that, 5G will require big bands of spectrum," he said.