AT&T's First 5G Speed Tests Look Uninspiring

[Nan Yang]

AT&T's First 5G Speed Tests Look Uninspiring

The first consumer speed test for 5G, posted to Reddit, is no faster than 4G. So now AT&T will start calling 4G 5G.
Sascha Segan

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  • December 28, 2018 10:10am EST

AT&T's Netgear Nighthawk 5G hotspot, the first consumer mobile 5G device, has been on the market for about a week now, but it's hard to find any evidence that anyone's using it. One post on Reddit shows a Speedtest result of 194.88Mbps down - impressive, until you see that the Redditor got 187.44Mbps on AT&T's 4G network in the same location.

Otherwise, AT&T's, Netgear's, and Reddit forums are deathly quiet when it comes to any actual 5G users, and Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence database doesn't seem to show any dramatic speed upticks in AT&T's 12 announced 5G cities. The carrier doesn't seem to have shown the 5G device to any journalists, and there are zero hands-ons being shown on YouTube. The company declined to make a unit available to me when I asked, saying they needed to save the relatively small inventory for customers

That said, we haven't found any evidence that the customers are actually out there in any noticeable number. AT&T's 5G launch appears to mostly be a paper launch, so the company can say it "launched" in 2018.

 

[Menace2Society]

I thought 5G would offer 5gbps + ?

 

[Offshore]

fake it until you make it.

 

[FalconStar]

This is just the initial stage.
Look at the speed offered by 4G when it was just introduced and even now 4G doesn't go faster than 40-60Mbps on average.
Just wait a few years, with time the technology will be refined and you'll get to enjoy the true potential of 5G internet.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I thought 5G would offer 5gbps + ?

There are multiple companies and it depends upon the number of users in your area.

If you live in a densely populated area your average connection is not going to be great. For instance right now Verizon is offering 1.8g/ps. I don’t think 5G will ever put home fiber lines out of business as Verizon has hit 8 g/ps in recent fiber tests.

 

[Beast]

China huawei 5G is 2.5g/ps. Anything less than 1g/ps for 5G is pathetic or even consider junk.

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/huaw...ed-test-in-italy-speed-up-to-2-7g-sec.594137/