AT&T and Verizon start rolling out C-Band 5G service

Source: MacRumors

AT&T and Verizon are rolling out C-Band 5G as of yesterday. C-Band is considered the “goldilocks” part of the spectrum for 5G service, and it's the reason T-Mobile has been smoking the other guys in terms of 5G performance (*Clarification: T-Mobile doesn’t use the C-Band, but does use what’s called “Mid-Band 5G,” which delivers much better performance than the low-band 5G that’s been used by AT&T and Verizon up until now). Up until now, only T-Mobile has offered this version of 5G, which offers a faster, more reliable signal than the 5G service that has been available from Verizon and AT&T up to this point.

If you have a 5G iPhone (and a supported Verizon or AT&T plan), you may start seeing much better performance on those two carriers. Verizon says their new service covers over 100 million people in 1,700 cities (though they haven’t provided a coverage map), while AT&T managed “parts of” 8 cities (Austin, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Orlando, and “South Florida”). I guess Denver isn't a big enough city.

With Verizon, you'll see a 5G UW icon in the top right of your iPhone screen (pictured above) when the service is available, while AT&T will show a 5G+ icon. This is great for confusing customers because those icons were previously reserved for their respective mmWave 5G service. Millimeter Wave 5G (or ultra wideband) is the fastest 5G signal available, but it’s also incredibly fragile and almost requires direct line of sight to the antenna. It can be disrupted by things like trees, walls, and even rain. As far as I’m concerned, Verizon has essentially been scamming everyone for years by saying they offer the fastest 5G network available because 99% of people can’t use their ultra wideband service. It’s reserved for certain city blocks and some large indoor venues like basketball arenas.

End rant.

Both companies say that they’ll continue rolling out their service, so hopefully AT&T can manage a few more cities in the coming months. I still get no AT&T service at all in my apartment complex or the surrounding area, which was really fun as we evacuated from the Marshall fire in separate cars and couldn’t call each other. Hopefully that’ll change with this rollout.

I’d be curious how many people are seeing improved performance, or at least seeing those new 5G logos on their iPhones (especially my Orlando people). Let me know in the comments!