AT&T 5G Roll Out: $500 One-Off plus $70/month for 15 GB
by Ian Cutress on December 18, 2018 12:35 PM ESTSo you want to get some of that super fast, super low latency 5G goodness? AT&T has just announced pricing for their upcoming services to several US cities, and it doesn’t look too great.
The crux of the deal starts with a $500 one-off fee for a Netgear Wireless Hotspot, which is the one we saw at the Qualcomm Tech Summit a couple of weeks ago. This device converts a 5G signal into an 802.11ac/802.11ax wireless hotspot, or can be tethered through a USB 3.1 5 Gbps connection. Inside is a battery, as well as a Snapdragon 855 SoC and X50 modem that will convert the 5G signal. In speaking with the mobile hotspot providers, they expect ‘a full day battery’ with their devices, but Netgear declined to say how big the battery was or hard numbers.
The Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot
On top of the $500 fee is the data plan. To start, AT&T will offer a $70/month data plan for 15 GB (with no annual committment). So despite the promise of 5G being fast, that data cap is going to go quick for anyone that wants to download a few movies. One of the use cases given to us for 5G at the Tech Summit was the ability to pull down a few seasons of a favorite show on Netflix while boarding a plane. If that’s the case, it might only be valid once or twice in a month.
To start, AT&T will only offer the 5G network to select businesses and customers for the first 3 months, before offering it to all customers in the Spring. Initially the service will be available in the following cities:
- Atlanta
- Charlotte, NC
- Dallas
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Jacksonville, Fla
- Louisville, KY
- Oklahoma City
- New Orleans
- Raleigh, NC
- San Antonio
- Waco, TX
The following cities will be enabled through the first half of 2019:
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Nashville
- Orlando
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose, CA
The initial offering will make 5G available as a hotspot service only, meaning that users will have to purchase a compatible 5G mobile hotspot for it to work (and only Netgear makes ones that will work with AT&T so far).
No word was given as to the speed of AT&T’s 5G network, however it will be part of its 39 GHz mmWave spectrum. To differentiate between 5G on mmWave and 5G on sub-6 GHz bands, AT&T is using the ‘5G+’ branding for its mmWave technology. This is going to be a fun exercise in branding.
Source: AT&T
At AT&T's 5G Demos at the Qualcomm Tech Summit, Dec 2018
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sorten - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
A bit of a preview for the BOM on current gen 5G phones.yeeeeman - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
What are we gaining here? The fact that we get the internet wirelessly and not via a fiber cable?Fiber is much lower latency, doesn't really care about many users being on the same network and has unlimited traffic with much lower prices. So, again, what problem are we solving with this?
sing_electric - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
With a 15GB cap? Slow LTE speeds on your hotspot or 4G device (tablet/laptop w/a modem). Of course, if you're moving enough data that average LTE speeds are a serious issue, 15GB likely won't be enough....Holliday75 - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
Fiber has a finite length and when I drive around it will eventually run out and snap. Not to mention it getting caught up on other cars, tripping jobbers and possibly beheading small children at the bus stop.Mitch89 - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
HahaLolimaster - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
Telecoms still don't get it, fast access and data caps should never go together.Despoiler - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
15gb a month for $70? What a joke! AT&T once again proves they don't want to compete.sing_electric - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
Everyone's missing the downside of this: At these prices, AT&T can practically GUARANTEE that there'll be no congestion on their 5G network!Supercell99 - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
This is a joke. 15GB for $70. This is why there needs to be more competition in the wireless network and broad space.surt - Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - link
Is it possible they meant 15TB? I'm a pretty light user but I blow through 700GB / month currently.