AT&T lying to customers by showing '5G E' on devices, under fire from other carriers
AT&T has been criticized by rival carriers Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile for attempting to mislead customers by marketing some smartphones as using "5G Evolution" technology and displaying a "5G E" connectivity logo on the screen, despite the devices involved being incapable of connecting to a 5G network.
AT&T has come under fire on social media and in statements following the revelation the carrier has started to update some of the devices it sells with a new connectivity icon. Owners of some Samsung and LG smartphones are starting to see a connectivity icon reading as "5G E," indicating the device is connected to AT&T's "5G Evolution" network.
The name seemingly references the upcoming 5G connectivity that carriers are slowly building into their networks, but does not in fact mean 5G. In the case of 5G Evolution, AT&T uses the name to refer to its existing 4G (LTE-A) technology improvements that it has rolled out in hundreds of markets, and has done so for some time.
The change to start displaying "5G E" on some devices is misleading to consumers, as they may expect to connect to an actual 5G network, rather than one that is actually just fast 4G. AT&T is slowly rolling out a genuine 5G network, but currently it requires customers to connect to it using the Netgear Nighthawk Mobile 5G Hotspot.
The move has received some criticism from AT&T's rivals. T-Mobile opted to mock AT&T's decision on social media, releasing a video updating an iPhone to "9G" by attaching a piece of a sticky note over the visible LTE connectivity icon.
A blog post by Verizon CTO Kyle Malady that was also used as a full-page advertisement in a number of newspapers called out the issue without directly naming AT&T. In the post, Malady advises Verizon is committed to "labelling something 5G only if new device hardware is connecting to the network using new radio technology to deliver new capabilities."
Malady goes on to more directly allude to AT&T's activity, insisting "We won't take an old phone and just change the software to turn the 4 in the status bar into a 5. We will not call our 4G network a 5G network if customers don't experience a performance or capability upgrade that only 5G can deliver."
"Doing so would break an enduring and simple promise we've made to our customers: that each new wireless generation makes new things possible," continued the CTO.
In a statement to Engadget, Sprint made a more direct accusation. "AT&T is blatantly misleading consumers - 5GE is not real 5G," Sprint CTO Dr. John Saw proclaimed.
"Sprint will launch and market real 5G that is standards-based in the first half of 2019," advised the carrier. "We're designing our mobile 5G footprint at launch to cover the downtown metro areas of 9 top cities, with sights on providing our customers with contiguous coverage using the first 5G smartphone in the U.S."
Regardless of when actual 5G networks go live for smartphones in the United States, it is unlikely that Apple will take advantage of the high-speed communications technology for some time, with reports suggesting the first iPhones supporting 5G won't ship until 2020 at the earliest. Android-based smartphones are more likely to offer 5G sooner, possibly by the end of this year.
AT&T has come under fire on social media and in statements following the revelation the carrier has started to update some of the devices it sells with a new connectivity icon. Owners of some Samsung and LG smartphones are starting to see a connectivity icon reading as "5G E," indicating the device is connected to AT&T's "5G Evolution" network.
The name seemingly references the upcoming 5G connectivity that carriers are slowly building into their networks, but does not in fact mean 5G. In the case of 5G Evolution, AT&T uses the name to refer to its existing 4G (LTE-A) technology improvements that it has rolled out in hundreds of markets, and has done so for some time.
The change to start displaying "5G E" on some devices is misleading to consumers, as they may expect to connect to an actual 5G network, rather than one that is actually just fast 4G. AT&T is slowly rolling out a genuine 5G network, but currently it requires customers to connect to it using the Netgear Nighthawk Mobile 5G Hotspot.
The move has received some criticism from AT&T's rivals. T-Mobile opted to mock AT&T's decision on social media, releasing a video updating an iPhone to "9G" by attaching a piece of a sticky note over the visible LTE connectivity icon.
didn't realize it was this easy, brb updating pic.twitter.com/dCmnd6lspH
-- T-Mobile (@TMobile)
A blog post by Verizon CTO Kyle Malady that was also used as a full-page advertisement in a number of newspapers called out the issue without directly naming AT&T. In the post, Malady advises Verizon is committed to "labelling something 5G only if new device hardware is connecting to the network using new radio technology to deliver new capabilities."
Malady goes on to more directly allude to AT&T's activity, insisting "We won't take an old phone and just change the software to turn the 4 in the status bar into a 5. We will not call our 4G network a 5G network if customers don't experience a performance or capability upgrade that only 5G can deliver."
"Doing so would break an enduring and simple promise we've made to our customers: that each new wireless generation makes new things possible," continued the CTO.
In a statement to Engadget, Sprint made a more direct accusation. "AT&T is blatantly misleading consumers - 5GE is not real 5G," Sprint CTO Dr. John Saw proclaimed.
"Sprint will launch and market real 5G that is standards-based in the first half of 2019," advised the carrier. "We're designing our mobile 5G footprint at launch to cover the downtown metro areas of 9 top cities, with sights on providing our customers with contiguous coverage using the first 5G smartphone in the U.S."
Regardless of when actual 5G networks go live for smartphones in the United States, it is unlikely that Apple will take advantage of the high-speed communications technology for some time, with reports suggesting the first iPhones supporting 5G won't ship until 2020 at the earliest. Android-based smartphones are more likely to offer 5G sooner, possibly by the end of this year.
Comments
This
Be
More
Hilarious
?
For years now, the marketing divisions of all these companies have been foisting the term "4G" on customers when in fact all they're offering is fast 3G mobile technology. REAL 4G is LTE Advanced. If your provider isn't offering you LTE Advanced, then you're using REAL 3G. 3G. 3G. 3G
And now the liars are ticked off at AT&T for foisting a bigger lie than they are.
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/feature/mobile-phone/4g-vs-lte-whats-the-difference-3605656/
The above is from the Wikipedia entry for 4G communications.
To my knowledge carriers haven’t yet attained anywhere near 4G speeds yet.
I will not hold my breath for 5G any time soon.
Maybe that would put an end to all these stupid commercials where each company claims to be the “fastest”, “best”, and so forth.
Also, it looks like this is not the year to buy into 5G for phones anyway, so a skeptic's eye on all the carriers is a good idea. (It's always a good idea anyway. :P )
IMO, if the FTC won't go after them, then someone should sue them.
My understanding of what they did is slightly different, though very similar. Right now, they have LTE and 4G displaying on their phones. LTE is the real 4G. 4G is really 3G from my understanding. I live in an area where I often get LTE, but it's rural--so I go through so-called "4G" zones.
This is the first time I've seen the accusation that their LTE is not actually LTE.
With all the squabbling over 5G modems and how long it will be before Apple includes one in the iPhone, I've long held that it's irrelevant, since most of us struggle to even get 4G LTE speeds, and when we do they are more than adequate for everything we do. Maybe ATT thinks the same!