I think it's safe to say that AT&T, the second largest wireless network provider in the United States, has had a tumultuous history with 5G. Sure, the company has been working towards that major milestone for its network for quite some time, just like the other major carriers, but it's the only one with "5G Evolution," or, as it appeared on so many phones, "5G E".
Now, one might think that "5G Evolution" would stand for the evolution of 5G, and, as such, think that maybe it's an even faster version of 5G than what other carriers are offering. Nope! 5G E isn't even 5G! It's just a faster version of AT&T's 4G network. So, ostensibly, it probably should have been called 4G Evolution, or 4G E.
Honestly, I'm a little surprised that AT&T never used 4G E.
AT&T got dunked on quite a bit for 5G E, especially as it started actually showing up on phones and, unsurprisingly, a lot of customers weren't sure what was going on. (Did their device just suddenly start supporting 5G? It sure didn't!) But AT&T's executives weren't deterred by the feedback. Quite the opposite, actually.
Technically, AT&T has had a 5G network out there for a while, but it's only accessible to developers and businesses. But that's changing later this year, in just a few weeks, in fact. Alongside the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G comes AT&T's 5G network for consumers. So that's exciting. Except that the phone won't support mmWave technology, which means it won't support AT&T's faster -- better -- 5G network.
Oh, and AT&T's 5G network that offers mmWave technology? That's 5G+. Awesome, right?
Naming nonsense aside, I'm mostly curious about 5G adoption as a whole. The benefits of speed and reliability (in most situations) are obvious, and I can see why someone would want to jump on that bandwagon as quickly as possible. But obviously it comes down to availability. For AT&T consumer subscribers it's been a wait, but we know that's coming to an end next month.
But that's tied to a $1,300 Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and that's nothing to sneeze at. Waiting doesn't seem awful. But if you're an AT&T customer, are you planning on picking up the 5G-enabled Galaxy Note 10+ and jumping on the bandwagon so soon? Let me know!