{"id":7002,"date":"2021-05-17T21:28:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T02:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/?p=7002"},"modified":"2021-05-18T03:15:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T08:15:27","slug":"att-5g-availability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/att-5g-availability\/","title":{"rendered":"AT&T 5G Availability, Progress and Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AT&T’s come a long way since they first introduced their 4G LTE network to customers in 2011<\/a>. Over the course of 9 years, AT&T’s made huge strides in their nationwide 4G LTE coverage, delivering their blazing fast wireless data services to more than 162 million subscribers across the country. With 99% of the country already covered in 4G LTE, it’s now time to look ahead to AT&T’s next generation 5GE, 5G, and 5G+ networks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is AT&T’s 5G network?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

AT&T 5G Evolution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Introduced back in 2018, AT&T got a head start on rival networks with the release of 5G Evolution. Also known as 5GE, the wireless technology operates on AT&T’s existing 4G LTE network and gets its name by employing several new 5G technologies (carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO, and 256-QAM) for greater transfer rates. This allows 5GE to (theoretically) deliver twice the data speeds of 4G LTE, although these upgrades aren\u2019t necessarily unique to AT&T\u2019s 5GE network, with other carriers labeling it \u201cLTE Advanced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is you don’t even need a new AT&T phone plan to take advantage of 5G Evolution, and many recent devices are already 5GE ready. AT&T 5GE phones include older devices like the Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note 9, iPhone X, the iPhone 8, and newer models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT&T 5G<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AT&T has already begun laying the groundwork on their next generation network, and unlike 5GE, it’s actually a true 5G network. AT&T’s 5G wireless technology comes in two flavors: 5G<\/strong> and 5G+<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what’s the difference between AT&T 5G and 5G+? Both AT&T 5G and 5G+ are true, standards-based 5G, only they operate a bit differently. Standard 5G was initially for consumers<\/strong>, and uses AT&T’s low-band (sub-6) spectrum for greater coverage, allowing it to reach rural and suburban areas. Low-band 5G should offer similar range to AT&T’s existing 3G and 4G networks, only with a significant speed boost and substantially lower latency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, 5G+ was initially only available for AT&T business customers<\/strong> and uses ultra-high frequency (39GHz and 24 GHz) mmWave spectrum. Due to the ultra-high frequencies, 5G+ is capable of delivering gigabit data speeds but with a limited range of about 1,000 feet, making it better suited for dense, high-traffic areas like cities, colleges, sports arenas, and shopping centers. In March 2020, AT&T opened up 5G+ to consumers as well (compatible phone required).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is AT&T 5G available?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

AT&T 5G+ launched in the middle of 2019 and is currently live in parts of 38 US cities, while their more far-reaching low-band 5G network (850 MHz) is live in 14,000 cities across the US. AT&T said they expect their combined 5G\/5G+ network would cover \u201ctens of millions\u201d of consumers and businesses with “nationwide coverage” by the middle of 2020, and as of July 2020, they made good on that promise hitting 395 markets across the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT&T 5G coverage map<\/h2>\n\n\n\n