AT&T officially launches new Mobile 5G service on December 21

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AT&T announced today that they are officially offering access to their mobile 5G network to consumers making them the first carrier to get to market with 5G. However, access to the new 5G service will be quite limited and comes with several caveats including device compatibility and geographic coverage. AT&T does say that despite the limited scope of the initial launch, the company has plans to quickly ramp up the service during 2019.

In the announcement, AT&T Labs and chief technology officer Andre Fuetsch says,

This is the first taste of the mobile 5G era. Being first, you can expect us to evolve very quickly. It's early on the 5G journey and we're ready to learn fast and continually iterate in the months ahead.

In case you are on AT&T, do not presume you will just be able to automatically start accessing the new 5G network. First, you will need to be located in one of the cities where the network is currently running:

  • Atlanta
  • Charlotte
  • Dallas
  • Houston
  • Indianapolis
  • Jacksonville
  • Louisville
  • Oklahoma City
  • New Orleans
  • Raleigh
  • San Antonio
  • Waco.

Note that according to AT&T, even within those locations coverage is limited to only "parts" of the area. Those cities will be followed by seven more launches in the first half of 2019, including:

  • Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles
  • Nashville
  • Orlando
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • San Jose

Assuming a consumer is in one of the covered areas, they will have to get a NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot, which will serve as a bridge to existing LTE devices. AT&T says they are making the mobile hotspot available to "select businesses and consumers" starting December 21st, although no details about how those are selected were provided. The good news for those customers is they will get an initial 90 days of up to 5GB of data for no cost. When the mobile hotspot goes on sale in early 2019, it will cost $499 and consumers will have to add on a $70 per month data plan that provides 15GB of data.

The announcement and launch this week seems to really be about achieving two things. First, AT&T can lay claim to being first to market with 5G service. Second, the company will be able to say they achieved this in 2018. For marketing it is good news – for actual 5G usage, perhaps not so much. Nevertheless, AT&T's launch of 5G is another positive sign that these faster speeds and networks are moving closer to reality.

source: AT&T

Raised in North Carolina, Jeff Causey is a licensed CPA in North Carolina. Jeff's past Android devices include an HTC EVO, a Samsung Note II, an LG G3, and a Motorola Moto X Pure Edition along with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1. He currently uses a Samsung Galaxy S8 and (very rarely) a Nexus 7 (2013). He is also using a Verizon-branded Motorola Moto Z Play Droid supplied by his job. Jeff used to have a pair of Google Glass and a Moto 360 Sport in his stable of gadgets. Unfortunately, his kids have all drunk the Apple Kool-Aid and have i-devices. Life at home often includes demonstrations of the superiority of his Android based devices. In his free time, Jeff is active an active runner usually training for his next marathon, owns a Mazda MX-5 Miata, and plays Dungeons & Dragons. Jeff has three grown kids and a golden retriever.


#Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

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