The AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) 5G revolution is here as the company is rolling out the advanced connection for mobile devices this year.
The carrier said that it is slowly shifting towards real 5G, but it needs to upgrade its cell towers first to make that happen. The in-between stage from 4G to 5G will be something known as “fake 5G,” or “5G Evolution” to parts of 117 new markets–the advanced service is already available in 24 cities.
AT&T will eventually roll out real mobile 5G in 12 cities by the end of 2018. The company added that it will also be launching LTE-LAA, which is a faster type of LTE connection that consists of an unlicensed spectrum–this one will be available in parts of Boston, Sacramento and McAllen Texas.
Company CTO Andre Fuetsch wrote in a blog post that “these technologies serve as the runway to 5G by boosting the existing LTE network and priming it for the future of connectivity.” This means that AT&T will pave the way for faster speeds thanks to its improved infrastructure with plans of upgrading to the next generation of wireless network when it’s available.
Some of the placed that already have access to fake 5G include Waco, Atlanta and Dallas, and all of these places will have real 5G by the end of the year.
T stock fell about 0.3% on Friday.
