AT&T’s 5G service to hit OKC on Friday

“It’s important to know that initially, 5G is only going to be available in dense areas of center city, and probably also around places like stadiums and college campuses.”

PCMag’s lead mobile analyst Sascha Segan

Some AT&T customers in Oklahoma City will be able to access the provider’s 5G mobile network for the first time Friday. The service will be available here and in 11 other cities to selected customers using the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot. It’s the first mobile rollout of fifth-generation wireless technology, which also is being developed by other providers like Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint to succeed 4G LTE. In October, Verizon began offering 5G service to customers in four cities using in-home, hard line modems as an alternative to cable internet. The AT&T announcement means customers in Oklahoma City will be able to take their 5G service with them, PCMag’s lead mobile analyst Sascha Segan said. “This also means AT&T’s network is suitable for smartphones, even though (5G) smartphones don’t exist yet,” Segan said. “We’re anticipating that the first 5G smartphones will be announced in February and will come out in March.” The 5G service in Oklahoma City likely will have a limited range, however. The coverage area is expected to increase over time. “It’s important to know that initially, 5G is only going to be available in dense areas of center city, and probably also around places like stadiums and college campuses,” Segan said. The businesses and consumers selected for what Segan called a “beta test” will receive the mobile hotspot for free, along with data usage at no cost for the next three months. In spring 2019, AT&T will begin selling the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot for $499, along with a 15 gigabyte data plan of $70 per month. Early adopters likely will be innovative and growing businesses, AT&T Business spokesman Mo Katibeh said in the announcement. Segan said he expects the hotspot to function like 4G, but a little better. It’s probably a little faster, he said, and costs less per gigabyte to operate. “At least for the first six months or so, think of 5G as a booster for LTE rather than something that’s going to replace it. And we’re going to see the real potential of 5G happening sometime in 2020,” he said. “This is an exciting moment, but it’s just one step along the path.”