AT&T has rolled out its 5G network to 13 new markets, bringing the total to 32 U.S. markets with access to 5G, the next generation of cellular wireless technology.
The new cities with 5G deployment include Atlantic City, New Jersey; Bakersfield, California; Boston; Dayton, Ohio; Frederick, Maryland; Liberty, Georgia; Modesto, California; New Bedford, Massachusetts; Oxnard, California; San Luis Obispo, California; Santa Barbara, California; St. Louis; and Wichita, Kansas.
These cities join 5G deployment already rolled out to Baltimore; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; Detroit; Las Vegas; Louisville, Kentucky; Manhattan; Philadelphia and Washington D.C., which are markets that were introduced earlier this year. They join Birmingham, Alabama; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Milwaukee; Pittsburgh; Providence, Rhode Island; Rochester, New York; and San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, California, which are markets that were rolled out in December of last year.
5G promises to increase download speeds by up to 10 times the current speed of 4G technology with the additional benefit of low latency and higher bandwidth.
AT&T is working on two different types of 5G. The low band spectrum that offers higher speeds but can also cover greater distances than other spectrum bands. The company said with its low band, 5G could cover more than 50 million people, covering the entire U.S. by the first half of the year. This is assuming that these 50 million people adopt 5G smartphones and are in the area where the deployment is located.
AT&T is also working on millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum 5G technology, which is more limited in coverage due to it not being able to penetrate objects such as doors, walls, buildings or trees. Yet, mmWave is where the speed and low latency boost is expected to really take off and AT&T said it has already seen a peak download speed of 2 Gbps and is rolling out the technology to businesses, universities, hospitals and sports venues.
