AT&T to Launch 5G Network in Austin and Indianapolis

AT&T has announced that it will launch its first 5G network in Austin and Indianapolis in the coming months.

Initially the network will offer theoretical peaks of 400Mbps or higher. As the network is densified and technologies like carrier aggregation and LTE-License Assisted Access are deployed, theoretical peak speeds of up to 1Gbps will be possible in 2017.


Additionally, AT&T has announced that it's building 2 new 5G testbeds at the AT&T Labs in Austin. The new testbeds will go on-air this spring.

These new testbeds will support our existing 5G work, as well as trials using a fixed wireless 5G connection and the ability to stream DIRECTV NOW and access enhanced broadband services for residential and small-to-medium business customers in Austin. The testbeds will include dedicated 5G outdoor and indoor test locations. They’ll feature flexible infrastructure to allow modifications and updates as 5G standards develop. We will work with multiple vendors to evaluate advanced 5G technology concepts for both fixed and mobile solutions, test network infrastructure and devices and explore 5G signal coverage for the 28GHz, 39GHz, and sub-6GHz frequency bands.

The bandwidth and low latency of 5G should help the performance of applications like self-driving cars, mobile augmented reality, and virtual reality headsets.