February 2020 has been quite a month for AT&T. The wireless carrier is clearly focused on building out its 5G network, having added 39 different regions to the network in February alone.
As of February 17, AT&T now offers low-band 5G coverage in 58 different markets across the country. The low-band coverage is faster than LTE, but not nearly as fast as the marketed speeds that 5G is expected to bring. For those speeds, consumers will need to reside in an area that offers AT&T’s 5G+ network.
The 5G+ network is the 5G mmW network that delivers the high speeds most people expect from the next-generation wireless network. Currently, AT&T offers 5+ in 35 markets around the country.
AT&T has made it clear that they plan to continue this aggressive expansion of their 5G services until the majority of the nation is included in their coverage. Currently, T-Mobile still has the most expansive 5G network with 200 million people covered. However, almost all of that T-Mobile network is the slower low-band coverage.
While these network rollouts are a necessary step towards the 5G future, the biggest remaining in place is getting consumers 5G-capable devices. While many 5G-capable phones have been announced, there are very few currently available. In fact, Apple doesn’t plan to release 5G iPhones until the fall of 2020.
This is the full list of markets that AT&T has added to their 5G network in February 2020:
- Chattooga County, GA
- Hunterdon County, NJ
- Las Cruces, NM
- Long Branch, NJ
- New Brunswick, NJ
- New Haven, CT
- Ocean County, NJ
- Orange County, NY
- Portland, OR
- Utica-Rome, NY
- Vallejo, CA
- Whitefield County, GA
- Wilmington, DE
- Gila, AZ
- Hartford, CT
- Macon, GA
- Worth, GA
- Flint, MI
- Kalamazoo, MI
- Newaygo, MI
- Kansas City, MO
- Erie, PA
- Northeast, PA
- York, PA
- Salem, OR
- Spokane, WA
- Atlantic City, N.J.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Boston, Mass.
- Dayton, Ohio
- Frederick, Md.
- Liberty, Ga.
- Modesto, Calif.
- New Bedford, Mass.
- Oxnard, Calif.
- San Luis Obispo, Calif.
- Santa Barbara, Calif.
- St. Louis, Mo.
- Wichita, Kan.
Sources: