AT&T has activated its low-band 5G network in ten U.S. cities as it accelerates its nationwide rollout.
The network initially launched alongside the Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G and is now available to all AT&T customers in these locations rather than being limited to select business partners.
AT&T’s low-band 5G is currently live in the following cities:
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Birmingham, AL
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Indianapolis, IN
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Los Angeles, CA
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Milwaukee, WI
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Pittsburgh, PA
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Providence, RI
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Rochester, NY
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San Diego, CA
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San Francisco, CA
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San Jose, CA
AT&T has identified additional target markets for upcoming launches, including Boston; Bridgeport, CT; Buffalo, NY; Las Vegas; Louisville, KY; and New York City. Specific launch dates have not been announced, but AT&T states it is working toward offering nationwide coverage in the first half of 2020.
To clarify AT&T’s current 5G offerings, the company now operates three distinct types of networks:
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5G Evolution (5G-E): A marketing label applied to advanced 4G LTE technology. Some industry observers call this “fake 5G,” though AT&T maintains the branding as a step toward full 5G deployment.
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5G (low-band): AT&T’s initial true 5G deployment, using low-band spectrum (around 850 MHz). This spectrum provides wide-area coverage at slower peak speeds compared with higher-frequency bands.
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5G+ (mmWave): The high-speed form of 5G that uses millimeter-wave spectrum. It delivers very fast throughput but over shorter distances and in more limited coverage zones.
The ten cities listed above have received the low-band 5G rollout. Meanwhile, 5G+ has been available in parts of 23 cities for over a year, though it remains confined to specific neighborhoods and is offered primarily to select businesses and developers.
AT&T’s stated strategy is to use low-band 5G for broad coverage while deploying high-band mmWave 5G in localized, high-density venues such as stadiums, shopping centers, and other areas that benefit from very high capacity.
“AT&T has today become the final major US carrier to launch 5G services for consumers, creating a hotbed of competition in the marketplace. AT&T has always been a leader when it comes to the use of new and innovative network technologies. For the last six years it has been focused on scaling out its virtualization efforts through VNF and SDN, as it moves towards a cloud native network infrastructure. This approach will now enable it to quickly and cost-effectively deploy and scale 5G as demand for the technology grows.”
“The carrier that will emerge as the leader in 5G will be the one that successfully juggles the benefits of virtualization and open computing. The open computing model is disrupting the telecoms space as carriers of all sizes move away from hardware towards software-centric networks. This approach means networks can support technology from multiple vendors and deliver coverage at a much lower cost. This will be particularly important as carriers look to introduce best-in-class solutions to deploy 5G across multiple spectrum bands, such as the mmWave and the sub-6 GHz.”
Industry observers and telecom providers will continue to monitor AT&T’s expansion as the company scales its 5G footprint through 2020.