AT&T's 5G network launching to consumers soon alongside Note 10+ 5G

Editorial Director of News and Content

| November 22, 2019

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AT&T first launched its 5G network nearly one year ago, but it's only ever been available to business customers. That'll finally be changing soon.

AT&T will launch low-band 5G coverage for consumers in the coming weeks. It'll be available in five markets at first: Indianapolis, IN; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Rochester, NY; and San Diego, CA.

The big blue carrier says that it'll launch its 5G network in several more markets soon, and those include Boston, MA; Las Vegas, NV; Milwaukee, WI; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; Birmingham, AL; Bridgeport, CT; Buffalo, NY; Louisville, KY; San Jose, CA; and others. AT&T plans to have nationwide 5G coverage in the first half of 2020.

You can check out coverage maps for all of AT&T's 5G markets right here.

Also launching is the first smartphone that'll have access to AT&T's 5G network. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G is AT&T's first low-band 5G phone, and it'll be available for pre-order starting November 25th. Pricing will be set at $43.34 per month for 30 months or $1,299.99 full retail.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G

Customers who want to sign up for 5G will be able to get it for no extra charge on AT&T's Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Elite plans, which cost $75 and $85 per month, respectively.

Finally, it's worth noting that this 5G coverage is a bit different than AT&T's other 5G offerings. The 5G network that's launching to consumers in the coming weeks uses low-band spectrum, which is better at traveling longer distances and penetrating buildings but isn't as fast as millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

5G+ uses that mmWave spectrum, and it's the brand of 5G that AT&T currently offers to business customers in parts of 21 cities. AT&T says it plans to offer its 5G+ coverage in parts of 30 cities in early 2020.

And then there's 5GE, which is AT&T's name for its LTE-Advanced coverage. 5GE uses technologies like 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM, and carrier aggregation to offer faster download speeds. It's avialable in more than 500 markets and is supported on many smartphones, including the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max; iPhone XS and XS Max; iPhone 8 and 8 Plus; Galaxy Note 9 and Note 10; Galaxy S9 and S10; and the LG G8 and V40.

Now that AT&T 5G is going live for consumers, are you going to jump onto the network?