AT&T just announced that it will expand 5G connectivity to customers with older unlimited plans starting this month.
If you bought a 5G phone before today, say a iPhone 12– and wanted to activate it on AT & T’s 5G network, you had to upgrade to one of the carrier’s latest unlimited plans (AT&T Unlimited Starter, Unlimited Extra, and Unlimited Elite). Those plans include the ability to takeThe advantage of AT & T’s ultra-fast millimeter-wave-based 5G network, which the company indicates with a 5G + icon, unlike regular 5G, which is slower than 5G +, and 5G E, which isn’t 5G at all. That’s okay because there is no point in changing your unlimited plan to another unlimited plan just to tap into 5G.
While it’s hard to tell when a specific customer will get the upgrade to 5G, AT&T says it will text people to notify them when 5G will be added to their plan. That said, it’s important to remember that people already need a 5G compatible device and be in an area covered by AT & T’s 5G network.
Following the addition of 5G to older unlimited consumer plans, AT&T will also expand 5G support to older unlimited business plans starting April.
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While AT&T adding 5G support to older plans may seem like a small favor to those with older plans, the move almost looks like an opportunity for Verizon, which announced earlier this week that it will exclude customers with its cheaper metered and unlimited plans from access to its mmWave 5G or 5G based on Verizon’s newly purchased C-band spectrum.
Currently, it’s unclear whether AT&T will slow down 5G data after a certain point on those older unlimited plans, as they didn’t originally include pricing for 5G. Gizmodo has reached out to AT&T for clarification, and we’ll update the story if we hear anything.