AT&T will expand its rollout of 5G to three additional cities this year – Charlotte, Raleigh, and Oklahoma City – bringing its total number of cities with 5G launches in 2018 to 12. The other previously announced cities are Atlanta, Dallas, and Waco.
AT&T also noted that its 5G Evolution technology is now live in more than 140 markets, and will reach at least 400+ markets this year. 5G Evolution enables peak theoretical wireless speeds of at least 400 Mbps on capable devices.
Also, AT&T has just launched LTE-LAA in parts of 8 new markets – Austin, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, San Antonio, San Jose, Tampa, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, bringing the total number of LTE-LAA markets to 15. LTE-LAA offers peak theoretical wireless speeds reaching up to 1 Gbps on capable devices.
“We’re on track to launch the first mobile 5G services and deliver the first device to customers this year. 5G will be more than just a better network. Especially after our trial learnings with large enterprises, small-and-medium sized businesses and residential locations the past two years, we believe 5G will ultimately create a world of new economic opportunity, greater mobility, and smarter connectivity for individuals, businesses and society as a whole,” said Melissa Arnoldi, president, AT&T Technology & Operations.
AT&T hits gigabit speed with fixed 5G pilot service
AT&T is seeing peak wireless downlink speeds nearing 1 Gbps and latency rates less than 20 milliseconds in its field trials of fixed 5G service.
The results were achieved in AT&T’s 5G pilot in South Bend, Indiana.
AT&T updates its 5G and FTT rollout plans
AT&T confirmed plans to roll out mobile 5G service in a dozen U.S. markets by late 2018, making it the first U.S. carrier to do so. The initial launch is aimed at consumers. Trials of 5G business applications are also planned this year.
The company also updated its plans in the following areas:
- LTE-LAA – AT&T, which deployed its first commercial LTE-Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) site in downtown Indianapolis in November 2017, now says it intends to launch the technology in at least 2 dozen additional metros this year. LAA offers theoretical peak speeds of up to 1 Gbps. In previous field tests, AT&T observed actual peak wireless speeds of 979 Mbps.
- AT&T 5G Evolution – this series of upgrades based on LTE-Advanced technologies launched in 23 major metros in 2017. Further rollouts are underway.
- LTE-M – AT&T’s nationwide, low-power, wide-area LTE-M network went live in 2017. LTE-M supports large-scale IoT applications, like smart city services, smart metering, asset tracking, supply chain management, security and alarm monitoring, and personal wearables.
- Fixed Wireless Internet – in 2017, AT& launched high-speed internet access to over 440,000 locations across 18 states in mostly rural areas through technologies like Fixed Wireless Internet, as part of the FCC Connect America Fund. In 2018, AT&T plans to reach over 660,000 total locations in 2018 and 1.1 million locations by the end of 2020 in those 18 states.
- Fixed 5G and AirGig – AT&T has pre-standard 5G fixed wireless trials underway in Austin, Texas; Waco, Texas; Kalamazoo, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana with residential, small business, and education customers. The company has also announced 2 trials of its AirGig technology, which targets transport for ultra-fast low latency internet over power lines.
- Fiber for Consumers and Businesses – AT&T Fiber currently reaches more than 7 million locations across 67 metros nationwide. This year, AT&T plans to add 3 million more locations on. By mid-2019, AT&T Fiber should reach at least 12.5 million locations across at least 82 metro area/
- G.fast – In 2017, AT&T launched G.fast service supporting Internet speeds up to 500 Mbps for multifamily properties across 8 metro areas outside of its 21-state traditional service area. AT&T now to extend G.fast to apartment communities.
