5G on AT&T Wireless: Everything you need to know

AT&T now has several devices capable of 5G including the Samsung Galaxy S20 series as well as the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. The LG V60 ThinQ 5G also works with 5G on AT&T. Some business customers were able to get the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in 2019 however this phone only connects to the mmWave network.

Which plan do I need?

Postpaid AT&T customers will need either the Unlimited Extra plan or the Unlimited Elite plan. These plans are among AT&T’s most expensive plans coming in at $75 per month at $85 per month respectively for one line.

With AT&T Prepaid, you can only get 5G with the most expensive Unlimited Data Plus plan which comes in at $75 per month for one line.

What tech is AT&T using for 5G?

AT&T is using mmWave technology to deliver fast 5G service. This uses high-band spectrum above 24 GHz for coverage. This spectrum is available in large chunks allowing for enormous speeds of over 2 Gbps in ideal conditions. It remains to be seen how this will hold up under a true public load, but the early prospects are good.

AT&T has also launched a low-band sub-6 5G network at 850MHZ. This is the network that the majority of customers will be able to connect to since it has much better coverage than mmWave. This service is much more in line with what we’ve seen from Sprint and T-Mobile as far as speed and coverage. Typically, this means speeds faster than those that LTE can deliver but not by as much as you would expect. Still, some of the other benefits of 5G such as better traffic management and capacity will be worth the trade once the network is built out.

With the Samsung Galaxy S20+ and S20 Ultra capable of connecting to both networks, consumers finally have access to the entire network. Most 5G phones only use the sub-6 network due to a smaller and simpler antenna setup and lower cost.

What is 5Ge?

LTE isn’t the same today as it was on day one. Periodic upgrades to the underlying technology have made LTE more efficient and faster over time. The most modern version of this is called LTE Advanced. This tech offers the best consumer wireless technology outside of 5G and can produce some very strong speeds that are more than enough for almost any application. This isn’t abnormal since LTE stands for long term evolution and was designed to evolve and grow as technology improved.

AT&T is moving its LTE Advanced towers along a path towards 5G coverage thanks to these towers having high-speed backhauls that can support 5G speeds. This is why they have renamed their 4G LTE Advanced service to 5Ge with a software update. Short for 5G Evolution, this is framed as the first step towards an actual 5G network, though, not everyone agrees.

The fact of the matter is that this 5Ge network is the best of LTE and if you are using an older phone that is unusably slow in crowded areas, it may be worth it to get a phone that supports these enhancements. Don’t expect speeds to be a huge difference but latency and connection quality can be improved.

5G vs. 5Ge: What does it actually mean?

Is 5G worth it for most people?

In ideal conditions, 4G LTE is fast enough for most people. One problem is that these good speeds lead to data usage that is constantly increasing as the quality of media improves and download sizes grow. With LTE technology, there will be a hard ceiling on the amount of data one tower can deliver and the user experience will start to suffer.

Currently, you need one of AT&T’s more expensive unlimited plans to even access 5G so it’s really only worth it to the heaviest data users.

It’s OK not to be hyped about 5G