AT&T Announces Plans to Launch Mobile 5G in a Dozen U.S. Markets by Late 2018

[MacRumors]

Following an expansion of its 5G tests to multiple cities around the United States -- including Minneapolis in time for Super Bowl LII -- AT&T this week announced that it expects to be the first U.S. company to launch mobile 5G services in a "dozen markets" by late 2018. The carrier said that it's "moving fast" to fulfill this promise, but hasn't yet specified which new cities could be reached by the 5G service or how fast the speeds will be.

AT&T pointed towards an announcement made last month by international wireless standards body the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, in which the Project confirmed that the global mobile industry is ready to begin "full-scale development of 5G NR (new radio) for large-scale trials and commercial deployments as early as in 2019."

AT&T explained that hardware, chipset, and device manufacturers can now start development on 5G technologies, and AT&T can provide mobile 5G services sooner "without compromising its long-term vision." This means that the new network will be a true 5G service, unlike AT&T's previous "5G Evolution" technology that was essentially a rebranded version of LTE.

"5G will change the way we live, work and enjoy entertainment," said Melissa Arnoldi, president, AT&T Technology and Operations. "We're moving quickly to begin deploying mobile 5G this year and start unlocking the future of connectivity for consumers and businesses. With faster speeds and ultra-low latency, 5G will ultimately deliver and enhance experiences like virtual reality, future driverless cars, immersive 4K video and more."

AT&T's 5G deployment will be aimed at consumers, and the carrier expects to trial 5G technology with businesses as well. In this release, AT&T boasted faster speeds and "much lower latency" on users' smartphones as the selling point of the 5G technology. In addition to boosting connectivity speeds on smartphones, the company mentioned that it expects future 5G technologies to allow driverless vehicles to make better real-time decisions, enabling the cars to see around corners, through other vehicles, and at longer distances.

To take advantage of 5G features, users will need compatible smartphones, which right now include devices like the LG V30, Moto Z2 Force Edition, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active. These smartphones can take advantage of ultra-fast LTE Advanced features including 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, 4x4 Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output, 3-way carrier aggregation, and other 5G-related upgrades, to provide faster network speeds.

It's believed that Apple is looking to prepare future iPhone and iPad models for 5G technologies, following an application submission to the FCC last year, but the exact purpose of Apple's test remains unclear.

AT&T is also continuing to work on other wireless technology areas, including LTE, 5G Evolution, LTE-M for low-power wide-area coverage, Fixed Wireless Internet, Fixed 5G and AirGig, Fiber, and G.fast. AT&T rival carriers have also joined in on testing 5G technology, with Sprint saying its own wide-scale 5G network will launch by 2019, and T-Mobile aiming for nationwide 5G coverage by 2020.

Article Link: AT&T Announces Plans to Launch Mobile 5G in a Dozen U.S. Markets by Late 2018

 

[gsmornot]

I hope it comes here. I have a Netgear Nighthawk Mobile hotspot that is supposed to use 5G. It was released prior to the standard but why not hope to have fast wireless. It can't hurt.

 

[TimUSCA]

Surprised there's no list of initial cities. I seem to remember the first LTE rollout including a specific list.

Anyway, the article says a dozen and the headline says "dozens". So which is it?

 

[earthTOmitchel]

Surprised there's no list of initial cities. I seem to remember the first LTE rollout including a specific list.

Anyway, the article says a dozen and the headline says "dozens". So which is it?

My mistake, it's just a dozen.

 

[frozen220]

I'm willing to bet Atlanta metro is one of the dozen since AT&T mobility headquarters is based here and I do believe we were one of the first to get 3G & 4G as well. Also we have the Super Bowl at the new Mercedes Benz stadium in 2019 and AT&T is a huge sponsor of both the Falcons & Atlanta United (they built the stadium's amazing WiFi network, too). And apparently having 5G for Super Bowls is a thing.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I think it’s about time 5G is defined by the industry, to avoid confusion.

 

[dlewis23]

I have a Netgear Nighthawk Mobile hotspot that is supposed to use 5G.

It doesn't.

That hotspot is that "5G Evolution" thats really just AT&Ts way of trying to rebrand LTE to get people buy things thinking they are 5G. Its a scam.

 

[alphaod]

I'm glad that the US is being ahead of the wave for once... I remember the days where we only started deploying 2G while Japan and Korea has 3G already for years.

 

[Blackstick]

Maybe it'll work on the first floor of my house, unlike LTE/4G.

 

[NinjaHERO]

It doesn't seem to matter how many "G"s they add, I still have a weak signal up and down California. It makes sense when I'm home. I live in a little city no one has ever heard of...it's called Los Angeles. So, why would I have a signal. /s

Keeping building that network ATT. I'm ready for your to get better.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Already going live Minneapolis in advance of the Super Bowl next month. Speeds gonna be awesome.

 

[satinsilverem2]

now is this actually 5G or is this similar to AT&T calling HSDPA+ (4G) kinda thing?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

It doesn't seem to matter how many "G"s they add, I still have a weak signal up and down California. It makes sense when I'm home. I live in a little city no one has ever heard of...it's called Los Angeles. So, why would I have a signal. /s

Keeping building that network ATT. I'm ready for your to get better.

Permits for towers is a huge problem in California and other places.

To get approval to put up a new tower in say rural Texas, the approval takes about 2 months. In most of California it takes over 2 years. So once a problem is identified as needing extra towers, it can take years to resolve.

One of the promises of 5G is that they can serve more with less towers. So the existing towers can be upgraded to better serve growing demand from more devices (really needed with the Internet of Things connecting billions of additional devices along with our cellphones). Should make for better service for all, in addition to faster speeds, less latency, and more.

 

[bradkrischel]

I think it’s about time 5G is defined by the industry, to avoid confusion.

Making progress towards that. See here

 

[turbineseaplane]

I think it’s about time 5G is defined by the industry, to avoid confusion.

Agreed..
I think they're mainly just excited to have a new buzzword to sell people into more expensive plans with

 

[adamjackson]

Sitting here in New Hampshire still waiting for 3G....

 

[justperry]

It really doesn't matter that much, they as always will milk it again.
Why do we still have to pay a fortune for unlimited data while at home you've got fast internet AND unlimited.
It's getting faster by the day, now allow us to have several 100's of GB's so you don't have to worry about paying extra.
Most base stations(Tower-hardware) are already paid for, the only thing many of them have to upgrade is the equipment itself.

 

[dmylrea]

It doesn't seem to matter how many "G"s they add, I still have a weak signal up and down California. It makes sense when I'm home. I live in a little city no one has ever heard of...it's called Los Angeles. So, why would I have a signal. /s

Keeping building that network ATT. I'm ready for your to get better.

Sarcasm aside, why don't you switch to a carrier that is better (for you) than AT&T instead of just living with it and complaining? Personally, I'm happy with AT&T around CA. Do you have WIFI at home? If so, your phone should have WIFI calling. You don't need bars for WIFI calling.

 

[tCdemon]

Ha! Only AT&T would say 5G and really mean 4G LTE+...just like they claimed 4G but it was really HSPA+ (3G on crack) instead of LTE...good marketing to confused customers.

 

[plantemichel]

Sitting here in New Hampshire still waiting for 3G....

Come on we are in 2018 and still no 3G ??? Damn what about switching carriers???

 

[Avieshek]

Let’s have LTE-A first.

 

[justperry]

I am amazed AT&T doesn't call it 6G.

 

[adamjackson]

Come on we are in 2018 and still no 3G ??? Damn what about switching carriers???

Every other carrier has zero cell phone service. Verizon is the only one that gives me anything.

 

[M.PaulCezanne]

It really doesn't matter that much, they as always will milk it again.
Why do we still have to pay a fortune for unlimited data while at home you've got fast internet AND unlimited.
It's getting faster by the day, now allow us to have several 100's of GB's so you don't have to worry about paying extra.
Most base stations(Tower-hardware) are already paid for, the only thing many of them have to upgrade is the equipment itself.

Why? Need you ask? $ for the carriers. And with Apple and other companies requiring WiFi for certain services that will work perfectly well on fast mobile data, we’ll be forced to buy the Internet twice just like Comcast tries to force you to pay 3 times to use the same pipe.
[doublepost=1515090082][/doublepost]

Ha! Only AT&T would say 5G and really mean 4G LTE+...just like they claimed 4G but it was really HSPA+ (3G on crack) instead of LTE...good marketing to confused customers.

I left ATT a year ago and never looked back.

 

[justperry]

Why? Need you ask? $ for the carriers. And with Apple and other companies requiring WiFi for certain services that will work perfectly well on fast mobile data, we’ll be forced to buy the Internet twice just like Comcast tries to force you to pay 3 times to use the same pipe.
[doublepost=1515090082][/doublepost]
I left ATT a year ago and never looked back.

Yes, that's the sole reason.