Author: Maureen

AT&T’s super fast mmWave “5G+” network is now available to consumers. Until now, AT&T had reserved their mmWave network only for business subscribers, while consumers could only access their slower but more widespread 5G low band network.

AT&T users will need the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra to take advantage of the 5G+ network. The regular Galaxy S20 will work on AT&T’s slower 5G network, but not the faster 5G+ service.

Customers who buy the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra will be able to use the mmWave “5G+” branded networks in parts of 35 cities, and they can expect speeds that can be more than 20x faster than LTE. Where 5G+ isn’t available, they will be able to use the lower-band 5G network.

To see where AT&T has 5G and 5G+ service in your area, visit att.com/5Gforyou.

Today, AT&T 5G has gone live in 22 more cities around the country, bringing the total to 80 cities nationwide to have AT&T 5G service. The service went live in more areas of New York, Ohio, and California, which already had AT&T 5G in some spots, as well as a variety of other places from Georgia to Montana:

• Albany, Ga.
• Albany, N.Y.
• Athens, Ga.
• Beaverhead County, Mont.
• Binghamton, N.Y.
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Columbus, Ohio
• Denver, Colo.
• Hamilton, Ohio
• Lancaster, Pa.
• Lincoln County, Mont.
• Madera County, Calif.
• Madison County, Va.
• Mono County, Calif.
• Provo, Utah
• Raleigh County, W. Va
• Ross County, Ohio
• Santa Rosa, Calif.
• Springfield, Ohio
• State College, Pa.
• Sussex County, N.J.
• Worcester, Mass.

The 5G service available in these 22 cities and most of the other previously launched areas is low-band 5G, which provides good coverage but not a dramatic speed advantage over LTE. AT&T’s super-fast millimeter wave 5G service is only available in small parts of 35 cities.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to approve a payment package of $9.7 billion to satellite companies using the 3.7GHz to 3.98GHz band, to clear 280MHz of spectrum that will be auctioned to 5G carriers. This “C-band” spectrum is important for 5G development, and the auction could begin in December of this year and continue into early 2021 with multiple rounds of bidding covering different blocks of spectrum and geographic areas.

The mid band spectrum is important for carriers, as it offers a compromise between speeds and distance. Currently, US carriers have had to choose between high band frequencies that offer great speeds but poor coverage, or low band frequencies that offer less of a speed advantage but can provide much better coverage.

The FCC vote does not guarantee that the satellite companies will accept the payments and relinquish the frequency, but it is a step in the right direction for the future of 5G.

According to sources, the new line up of Samsung Galaxy S20 phones will be the first unlocked phones that work on all of the major US carriers’ 5G networks. There will only be one hardware version of the S20+ and S20 Ultra sold by all carriers, so even if you buy it with a carrier’s firmware pre-loaded, it can be used on other carriers in the future as well.

The S20+ and S20 Ultra are the first phones to support all of the 5G bands and network technology used by all four US carriers, and Samsung confirmed that it can be switched between carriers. Additionally, AT&T sources indicate that the S20+ and S20 Ultra will support improved performance through better carrier aggregation later this year.

Taiwanese publication DigiTimes is reporting that Apple is on track to launch iPhone and iPad Pro models with 5G capability by fall of 2020, according to their sources. The reports indicate that the devices will use 5nm-based A14 chips and support a combination of mmWave and sub-6GHz, which is important as US carriers are using a variety of frequency bands for their respective networks. Apple is expected to utilize Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 modem for the iPhones, but the modem to be used in the 5G iPad Pro remains to be seen.

DigiTimes believes that Apple will announce both the iPhone and iPad Pro 5G models in September. Additional rumors also suggest that Apple may first release an updated version of the iPad Pro in March, and when the 5G iPhone and iPad Pro launch later this year, the specs and hardware of the new 5G models likely won’t differ from existing models (except for the modem).

U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero has cleared the path for the long-awaited merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, rejecting a claim by a group of states that said the deal would violate antitrust laws and raise prices and approving T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint.

The deal, originally valued at $26 billion, already had federal approval, but went through a 2-week trial late last year wherein a group of states led by California and New York argued that the merger would reduce competition and lead to higher prices. For their part, T-Mobile and Sprint argued the merger will allow the new company to better compete with Verizon and AT&T, enabling them to offer better pricing and faster internet speeds.

“The court concludes that the proposed merger is not reasonably likely to substantially lessen competition,” Judge Marrero wrote. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai agreed, saying the ruling was a big win for American consumers and would help ensure U.S. leadership in rolling out a 5G network.

The states opposing the deal expressed displeasure at the ruling. New York’s attorney general said the state is considering an appeal, and California’s attorney general said that state is “prepared to fight.”

Samsung is set to announce the latest Galaxy phones on February 11, and rumors indicate the new lineup will be called the S20 instead of the S11 as previously thought. The new models are rumored to be the Galaxy S20 5G, S20 Plus 5G and S20 Ultra 5G.

Pricing for the new 5G phones is likely to be similar to iPhone 11 series pricing, ranging from under $1000 for the standard version and going up to $1200 for the Ultra. Rumored specs include improved cameras, the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, and fast-charging batteries:

Galaxy S20 5G (rumored specs)

• 6.2-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Cameras: 12-megapixel main, 64-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom, 12-megapixel ultrawide
• 10-megapixel single punch-hole front-facing camera
• 128GB RAM
• 4,000-mAh battery
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor

Galaxy S20 Pro/Plus 5G (rumored specs)

• 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Cameras: 12-megapixel main, 64-megapixel telephoto and 3x digital zoom, 12-megapixel ultrawide, time-of-flight sensor
• 10-megapixel front-facing camera
• 128GB of storage (starting)
• 12GB RAM
• 4,500-mAh battery with 25-watt fast charging
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor

Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (rumored specs)

• 6.9-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Cameras: 108-megapixel main, 48-megapixel telephoto with 10x optical zoom, 12-megapixel ultrawide, time-of-flight sensor
• 40-megapixel wide front-facing camera
• 128GB, 256GB, 512GB internal storage
• MicroSD card support, 12GB or 16GB RAM
• 5,000-mAh battery with optional 45-watt fast-charger
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor

Verizon’s “Built on 5G Challenge” asked innovators to submit ideas that showcased how 5G could increase business efficiency, improve immersive experiences and/or solve customers’ most challenging problems. They received over 550 submissions, from which they selected three winners:

• First Place: The $1 million winner is Ario. The company has developed an augmented reality (AR) productivity platform to increase workplace safety and efficiency. Ario will use Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband to improve the platform’s performance with advanced connectivity and improved image recognition. 
• Second place: The $500,000 prize winner is GAROU. The company’s virtual reality (VR) content platform leverages a 3D model of the world as an interface for accessing content and for in-VR social interaction. The company will use Verizon 5G to improve VR technology in a multi-user setting and help users access content in real time.
• Third place: The $250,000 prize winner is LexSet. The company generates synthetic image data from 3D content to train high-performance computer vision AI. The company will use Verizon 5G to enable advances in edge-based mixed reality, robotics, and inventory management.

The winners will have access to Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband at Verizon’s 5G Labs for 8 weeks, where they’ll work with 5G specialists to develop their concepts. “These innovators have come up with some really ground-breaking solutions that can only be fully realized with the fast speeds, massive bandwidth and super-low latency that Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband offers,” said Nicki Palmer, chief product development officer at Verizon. “By bringing these companies into our 5G Labs, where we collaborate with universities, startups and enterprises to co-create 5G concepts, we’re giving them access to all the tools they need to create truly transformational experiences that will reshape entire industries.”

Several carriers have launched 5G service in various parts of the country now, but each one utilizes different frequencies (or a combination of frequencies) for their respective networks. 5G service operating on higher frequencies is faster, but has very limited range, while carriers using lower-band spectrum can offer better coverage but more limited speeds.

Many carriers are incorporating parts of the high-band spectrum (millimeter wave or mmWave) into their 5G networks to varying degrees, but only Verizon has made millimeter wave the backbone of their network. Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg explained that this strategy is what will make Verizon the leader in 5G, saying “I think we’re building a unique 5G experience with our millimeter wave that nobody else is building…I think that’s really where the difference will come. We already have the best 4G network, as you have seen from the latest J.D. Power and RootMetrics [studies]. We’re going to continue to have that. We’re going to give the best experience to our customers and I’m confident that how we are building the network will make a big difference.”

Vestberg also confirmed that the company plans to continue with this strategy, with no need to branch out into other spectrums. “We first of all have all the assets to deploy our 5G strategy,” he said with regard to mmWave spectrum.

Testing from early adopters of Verizon’s 5G service has confirmed that Verizon’s service is incredibly fast – although as expected, range is limited and users generally need to be outdoors and in very specific coverage areas to actually access 5G.

T-Mobile launched their nationwide 5G service recently, and reviews from early adopters are coming in.

Unlike Verizon’s millimeter wave 5G network – which has been launched in a couple dozen cities but is only usable in very limited areas within those cities – T-Mobile is using a lower frequency, which provides much better coverage but slower speeds. Even on the lower frequency though, 5G should be significantly faster than 4G LTE. T-Mobile’s marketing has indicated that 5G users should see speeds around 20% faster than LTE.

A reviewer from Tech Junkie tested in multiple locations in the Denver area using T-Mobile’s OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Android phone, and the 20% speed bump over LTE proved accurate in most locations. The latency over 5G is significantly better than LTE (in one test, the reviewer saw ping times of just 37ms over 5G while latency over LTE was 77ms), which makes a big difference for things like video chatting, gaming, and other applications that benefit from real-time response.