AT&T has received flack for their “5G E” network. That’s because it’s not a 5G network. It’s a 4G LTE network with some optimizations to LTE. Those same optimizations are used across the industry. In fact, T-Mobile was the first to implement them.
According to OpenSignal, AT&T’s “5G E” network (actually a rebranded 4G LTE network) is actually slower than the 4G LTE networks from T-Mobile and Verizon. So, while T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint don’t try to lie to their customers about “5G E” being a fifth generation cellular technology, they do use the tech. As it turns out, they’re even better than AT&T with this tech.
AT&T is slower in every way, despite their false claims of having a “5G” network.
OpenSignal collected data from over 1 million user speed tests. That’s a large sample size from all over the United States. Their findings indicate that, what AT&T calls “5G E” is actually a technology that all other carriers are using. Furthermore, they’re significantly better at it.
AT&T got 28.8Mbps for “5G E” capable areas, and 18.2Mbps on their standard connections. That’s slower in every way than T-Mobile and Verizon. In fact, AT&T’s standard LTE connections are actually slower than the average, even when you account for Sprint’s abysmal speeds.
T-Mobile users see 29.4Mbps on average for those “5G E” enabled areas, with faster LTE-Advanced. In other areas, with standard LTE, they see 19.4Mbps. This is AT&T’s closest competitor. Verizon is just a little faster, with 29.9Mbps in the faster LTE areas, and 19.4Mbps in the slower regions.
Sprint is currently suing AT&T over their deceptive marketing. Customers should be wary of any company that’s not willing to claim their network is actually using 5G tech.
Sources:
- Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica
- Buster Hein, Cult of Mac