AT&T has announced the latest cities to be upgraded with its 5G network. However, there aren’t really any devices that can make use of it yet. In any case, Chicago and Minneapolis will be the latest to see the next generation cellular network.
As reported by Engadget, AT&T has announced in a press release today that it will be bringing 5G to a total of 21 US cities by the end of this year, with Chicago and Minneapolis the latest to be named.
AT&T previously committed to finishing its nationwide rollout of true 5G service by 2020. However, in the meantime, it’s come under fire for using a controversial “5G E” icon on both iPhones and Android smartphones.
They will join our previously announced 2019 launch cities: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose.
The marketing term stands for 5G Evolution, as in it’s not actually standards-based 5G service, but AT&T is using it to try and tell customers they’re in an area with enhanced LTE (4G) service.
Here’s AT&T’s perspective on the marketing tactic:
However, the competition (and a lot of users) see it differently. Sprint has even filed a lawsuit against AT&T on the matter. From Engadget:
As for the iPhone, it’s not expected to gain a 5G modem until 2020. There may be a few devices released this year that can take advantage of the new cellular network standard, but most consumers can expect to wait at least another year to see the faster speeds of 5G.
