AT&T has reached a milestone in its 5G network launch. As of this morning, the operator says that its network is officially available throughout the country; According to FCC guidelines, that means it’s available to more than 200 million people in the US Specifically, AT&T added 40 new markets today, bringing it to a total of 395 markets covering 205 million people. . That puts AT&T a little behind T-Mobile, which launched its 5G network across the country in December last year. However, they are still way ahead of Verizon (Engadget’s parent company): Verizon’s “ultra-broadband” 5G coverage is still only available in 35 cities in the United States.
Of course, “5G” does not mean the same thing from one operator to another. Verizon’s ultra-broadband network uses noticeably faster mmWave technology, while T-Mobile and AT&T primarily use low and mid-band 5G to achieve national coverage. Verizon hasn’t implemented anything on those specters yet, which is why its 5G network has such a limited range: mmWave doesn’t have nearly the same range. AT&T and T-Mobile complement their networks with mmWave, but they also have a much more limited reach.
