REUTERS/ALBERT GEA
- AT&T announced seven new cities where the company’s 5G network has been activated, raising the count to a total of 19 cities in the US with AT&T’s 5G network.
- AT&T may have its 5G network in more US cities than any other carrier at the moment, but the carrier doesn’t yet sell any smartphones that support 5G.
- The first device will be the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which AT&T says will be available to buy in the spring. Three more devices that will be able to connect to AT&T’s 5G network will arrive "later this year."
- AT&T’s true 5G network shouldn’t be confused with its "5G E" network, which is simply the company’s rebranded LTE Advanced Pro network.
AT&T announced on Tuesday that it activated its 5G mobile network in seven more cities, making for a total of 19 cities in the US where AT&T’s mobile 5G network is available.
5G mobile networks will complement the current 4G LTE networks mobile device users have been using to connect to the internet. Carriers are claiming their 5G networks will be around 10 times as fast as the current 4G LTE standard.
It’s important to note that AT&T specifically says "parts" of these seven cities will have 5G coverage, meaning AT&T’s 5G network may not be available throughout the entirety of any of the seven new cities.
Those new cities include:
- Austin, TX
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Orlando, FL
The other 12 US cities where AT&T’s 5G mobile network has been available since December 2018 include Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh in North Carolina; Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Waco in Texas; Indianapolis in Indiana; Jacksonville in Florida; Louisville in Kentucky; Oklahoma City in Oklahoma; and New Orleans in Louisiana.
AT&T comfortably holds the title for having the most widespread 5G mobile network at the moment. So far, Verizon is the only other carrier to have an active 5G mobile network, but only in two cities, including Chicago, IL and Minneapolis, MN.
At the same time, AT&T doesn’t sell any smartphones that can actually connect to its 5G network at the moment. The only AT&T-compatible device the company sells is a 5G mobile hotspot by Netgear, which smartphones can connect to and experience 5G speeds.
Netgear/AT&T
In the spring, AT&T said it’s on track to make the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G that will support AT&T’s 5G network available this spring. Three more 5G devices will be available "later this year."
Verizon, on the other hand, has the Motorola Moto Z3 smartphone that can connect to its 5G network with an accessory that attaches to the phone, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
AT&T’s 5G network shouldn’t be confused with the company’s "5G E" network, where the "E" stands for "evolution." 5G E is simple a rebranding of AT&T LTE Advanced Pro network, which most recent smartphone could connect to.
AT&T has come under fire from other carriers and tech media for renaming its LTE Advanced Pro network to 5G E, with critics saying the rebranding misleads customers into thinking they have true 5G connectivity. At the end of the day, however, using the 5G E name for the LTE Advanced Pro network would seemingly backfire against AT&T, as users may believe they’re connected to a 5G network while experiencing exactly the same performance they had before the rebranding.
NOW WATCH: Here Comes 5G — The Technology That Will Make Your Smartphone Nearly 50 Times Faster
See Also:
- Verizon’s early mobile 5G network launch positions it to become a leader in the 5G era
- Verizon has turned on its superfast 5G mobile network in 2 cities, and there’s actually a phone you can buy right now to use with it
- Three of the biggest South Korean carriers have revealed their 5G data plans — and one stands out as an early leader
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Antonio Villas-Boas)