The country’s second largest carrier has confirmed that it’s going to start rolling out its next-generation 5G network in two cities. At an event in San Francisco, the carrier confirmed that its “5G Evolution” network is going to provide speeds of more than 400Mbps. That’s significantly less than what proper 5G can theoretically deliver but at least it’s considerably faster than conventional LTE networks.
AT&T’s 5G network is going to be rolled out first in Austin and Indianapolis. It acknowledges that 5G will eventually be able to provide speeds of up to 1Gbps which is its true potential. Once that happens, it’s going to put mobile connectivity on par with fiber.
The carrier first started testing this next-generation network last year. It’s going to conduct field trials in Austin and Indianapolis over the coming months. Users will initially see speeds of up to 400Mbps but those in isolated areas might very well see speeds as high as 1Gbps by the end of this year, provided that they have a compatible device.
“Our goal is to bring really fast Internet to our customers, whatever the technology is,” said Eric Boyer, the carrier’s senior vice president for wired and wireless product marketing.
AT&T is just getting started with the rollout of its 5G network. It’s going to take a lot of time before it’s available across the entire country. AT&T is aiming to achieve nationwide coverage with its 5G network by 2020.