Sprint, AT&T reach settlement in lawsuit over rebranding 4G as '5G E'
A settlement has emerged in Sprint's lawsuit against AT&T, which accused the rival carrier of "blatantly misleading consumers" with its use of the term "5G E" to market high-speed 4G connections.
"We have amicably settled this matter," an AT&T spokesperson explained to the Dallas Business Journal. The exact terms of the agreement haven't been made public.
AT&T will, however, get to keep using "5G E," according to other Journal sources. If true, that would suggest Sprint was compensated or simply decided to drop legal action.
AT&T first began using "5G E" around early January, for instance showing the label on connected iPhones. That drew an outcry not just from Sprint but T-Mobile and Verizon, all of which have held off on the 5G label outside of authentic networks.
U.S. 5G is still in its earliest phases. Verizon has marginal coverage in Chicago and Minneapolis, and while AT&T did launch real 5G in December, that's only in the form of a portable hotspot -- phone support is still in progress.
iPhones aren't expected to include 5G modems until 2020. That may be a result the now-ended Apple v. Qualcomm battle, as well as slow development by Intel. Indeed Intel dropped out of the 5G race shortly after the Qualcomm settlement.
"We have amicably settled this matter," an AT&T spokesperson explained to the Dallas Business Journal. The exact terms of the agreement haven't been made public.
AT&T will, however, get to keep using "5G E," according to other Journal sources. If true, that would suggest Sprint was compensated or simply decided to drop legal action.
AT&T first began using "5G E" around early January, for instance showing the label on connected iPhones. That drew an outcry not just from Sprint but T-Mobile and Verizon, all of which have held off on the 5G label outside of authentic networks.
U.S. 5G is still in its earliest phases. Verizon has marginal coverage in Chicago and Minneapolis, and while AT&T did launch real 5G in December, that's only in the form of a portable hotspot -- phone support is still in progress.
iPhones aren't expected to include 5G modems until 2020. That may be a result the now-ended Apple v. Qualcomm battle, as well as slow development by Intel. Indeed Intel dropped out of the 5G race shortly after the Qualcomm settlement.
Comments
Can’t yet figure why anyone needs 5G on a mobile phone - maybe some killer app that some junior high school kid is going to figure out in the next 3 years and become the next multimillionaire.
But I can’t wait for 5G to replace my super duper crappy satellite internet service at home - yes I’m looking at you HughesNet - contract is up in October. I just need a 5G box for my home network.
And yes, AT&T is lying to y’all.
I would object ATT if ATT uses 5G, standard based 5G or 5G A, where A for advance.
$50 bills but the evolution version, which I say is worth $100
Sounds fair right
To this day AT&T labels 3G connections as "4G". True 4G LTE connections are labeled "LTE".
I connected with this 5G E showing a couple of times but have yet to measure it using Speedtest. Most of the time I still see LTE.
Mergers cost money.
In any case, AT&T has not claimed that 5GE is the same as 5G, only that it is a form of LTE that incorporates some of the technology in 5G (which it does).
While I disagree with AT&T’s branding, there is nothing false or deceptive, as far as the letter of the law is concerned. All AT&T did is create their own wireless standard.
Also E seems to interpret “Equivalent” to me, I don’t know if that’s just me.
Except that’s not true. It doesn’t use any 5G technology.