by Sarah Pereau | 23 Apr 2018
AT&T has launched its 5G Evolution technology in 117 new markets across the U.S.
AT&T’s 5G Evolution “delivers theoretical peak speeds up to 400 Mbps.” The technology is already live in several major cities, delivering speeds twice as fast as current LTE speeds. Other carriers have already started to upgrade infrastructure in preparation for 5G.
5G Evolution is not true 5G nor does it use the 5G waveform. However, it sets the foundation for the deployment of true mobile 5G in late 2018. It is essentially faster 4G, which is not a bad thing. Earl Lum, president of EJL Wireless Research, has nicknamed the 5G Evolution technology, “4.5G” because it is still “using 4G LTE technology.” For true 5G technology to be fully deployed, cell tower infrastructure needs to be upgraded to support 5G.
While the technology sounds intriguing, it is not available for all devices. According to AT&T, the only devices currently compatible with 5G Evolution are Samsung’s Galaxy lineup (S8, S9, S8+, S9+, Note8, and S8 Active), LG V30 and Moto Z2 Force Edition.
AT&T is expected to deploy 5G Evolution to a total of 500 markets by the end of 2018.
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