AT&T Launches 5G Evolution in 117 New Markets

AT&T announced on Friday that it has launched its 5G Evolution technology in 117 new markets.

Despite its name, 5G Evolution isn’t technically true 5G service. But as AT&T points out, the technology is basically laying out the foundation for actual 5G networks — which the telecom firm hopes to launch in 12 cities by the end of the year.

“These technologies serve as the runway to 5G by boosting the existing LTE network and priming it for the future of connectivity,” AT&T CTO Andre Fuetsch wrote in a blog post.

Basically, the 5G Evolution leverages AT&T’s upgraded infrastructure to bring faster speeds to other markets. That infrastructure will also be ready to support real 5G when the new standard is ready to be deployed.

And even though it’s not true 5G, AT&T’s 5G Evolution is still an upgrade over existing network technology. The pseudo-5G technology can support speeds up to two times faster than standard LTE — with theoretical peak speeds clocking in at 400 megabits per second, the company wrote.

Currently, AT&T has launched the technology in a total of 141 markets — it’s currently available in major metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Chicago, Memphis, Nashville and San Diego.

It plans to bump that up to over 500 markets by this year, including in Baltimore, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York City, Detroit, and Washington D.C.

The telecom giant also announced new markets for LTE-LAA, a faster type of LTE service that takes advantage of unlicensed spectrum. LTE-LAA, which supports theoretical peak speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, is now available in Boston, Sacramento and McAllen, Texas. Those three new markets will be part of 24 total that AT&T plans to roll out LTE-LAA in by the end of 2018.

True 5G networks are largely expected to revolutionize the way we compute, paving the way for advanced technologies like improved driverless car systems and artificial intelligence. Other telecom firms have announced their own plans to roll out 5G networks within the next couple of years.

You can view the complete list of markets that 5G Evolution is available in below.

Alabama

Anniston

Tuscaloosa

Alaska

Anchorage

Arkansas

Cleburne

Fayetteville

Fort Smith

Garland

Little Rock

Pine Bluff

California

Alpine

Chico

El Dorado

Fresno

Kings

Los Angeles

Madera

Modesto

Mono

Oxnard-Ventura

Sacramento

Salinas-Seaside-Monterey

San Diego

San Francisco

San Jose

Santa Cruz

Santa Rosa-Petaluma

Sierra

Stockton

Tehama

Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa

Visalia-Tulare-Porterville

Yuba City

Connecticut

Bridgeport

Hartford

Florida

Collier

Fort Pierce

Hardee

Melbourne

Miami

Orlando

Pensacola

Putnam

Sarasota

West Palm Beach

Georgia

Atlanta

Chattooga

Dawson

Hawaii

Hawaii

Illinois

Aurora

Chicago

Joliet

Indiana

Anderson

Bloomington

Evansville

Indianapolis

Kokomo

Miami

Muncie

Terre Haute

Warren

Kansas

Brown

Lawrence

Trego

Wichita

Kentucky

Lexington

Louisville

Madison

Mason

Trimble

Union

Louisiana

Alexandria

Baton Rouge

Beauregard

Claiborne

De Soto

Houma

Iberville

Lafayette

Lake Charles

Monroe

New Orleans

St. James

Plaquemines

West Feliciana

Massachusetts

Boston

Minnesota

Minneapolis

Mississippi

Benton

Claiborne

Leake

Jackson

Missouri

St. Joseph

Nevada

Reno

Storey

Ohio

Columbus

Oklahoma

Lawton

Oklahoma City

Seminole

Tulsa

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Puerto Rico

Adjuntas

Aguadilla

Culebra

San Juan-Caguas

South Carolina

Columbia

Greenville

Tennessee

Hamblen

Knoxville

Maury

Memphis

Nashville

Texas

Abilene

Amarillo

Atascosa

Beaumont

Brownsville-Harlingen

Burleson

Chambers

Cherokee

Corpus Christi

Dallas

Edwards

El Paso

Galveston

Houston, TX

Killeen

Laredo

Longview-Marshall

Lubbock

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission

Midland

Newton

Odessa

Reeves

San Antonio

Sherman-Dension

Tyler

Victoria

Waco

Wilson