AT&T to offer mobile 5G service this year

AT&T Inc. aims to be the first U.S. carrier to provide fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile service to phone customers this year, pitting the wireless giant against Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. in a costly network upgrade race to spur revenue growth.

Unlike current trials using 5G technology to beam signals between stationary antennas, AT&T said in a statement it will introduce mobile services in more than a dozen U.S. cities later this year. The company didn’t offer specifics.

The faster connections will help carriers sell advanced services like virtual reality and 4K video and enable selfdriving cars. Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. also intend to offer mobile 5G services but haven’t elaborated on their plans, though Verizon expects to introduce fixed service this year in a bid to replace cable and phone modems.

While 5G technology offers a path for a slowing industry to revive growth, challenges abound. Mobile-phone companies, chipmakers, device manufacturers and software developers will need to spend about $200 billion a year in research and capital expenses to get there. And engineers will have to find ways to get the technology to work around interference from trees and rain and provide a strong enough signal to handle the anticipated demand.

For AT&T, the push toward 5G has been a series of small steps over the past three years. “Our strategy is to build targeted capabilities early and expand from that,” said Gordon Mansfield, an AT&T vice president of network and device design.

AT&T says it has laid the groundwork for 5G through network upgrades in 23 cities and fixed wireless trials in Kalamazoo, Michigan; South Bend, Indiana; and Waco and Austin, Texas. The company hasn’t disclosed where it plans to launch mobile 5G initially or what airwaves or network equipment it plans to use.

“Our strategy is to build targeted capabilities early and expand from that.”

— Gordon Mansfield, an AT&T vice president of network and device design