AT&T has been busy getting ready for the arrival of 5G network. Earlier this month, the carrier revealed that during its routine 5G tests, it managed to hit download speeds of up to 1Gbps.
This is the kind of speed that 5G promises, but on the lower end. Theoretically, 5G is capable of topping 10Gbps and even beyond and apparently, AT&T is headed in the right direction, at least based on the latest test results.
The second-largest American carrier is now the first to top speeds of up to 2Gbps on 5G. This milestone was reached while carrying out tests in Atlanta using the NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot. Of course, if AT&T had a 5G-ready phone, it would be using one, but it doesn’t.
To put the new speeds into perspective, AT&T says you only need 10 seconds to download a 2-hour HD movie. But what remains unclear is whether everyone will be able to get the same speeds or if tiered plans will be introduced.
While 2Gbps sounds great, it might never be possible to hit these speeds in real life. When the network gets congested with more people joining in the fun, it will be an uphill task maintaining such high speeds all the time.
Related: 5G Android phones device list
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