AT&T Extends 5G Access To Legacy Unlimited Plans, Plots Mid-Band Speed Upgrades

by Brandon Hill — Friday, March 12, 2021, 01:42 PM EDT

AT&T today announced some big news for customers on its unlimited plans. The wireless industry is swiftly moving to 5G wireless technology and is working to blanket the United States with high-speed coverage (some carriers are having better luck than others with that initiative). AT&T says that it is now extending 5G access to all its customers that are on legacy unlimited data plans.

According to the company, access to its 5G and 5G+ networks will now be available at no additional cost to these customers. AT&T's announcement is both welcome and, at the same time, quite comical considering how carriers have obfuscated the meaning of "unlimited" data when it relates to their wireless plans.

For example, these are the legacy plans that AT&T says are currently eligible for 5G and 5G+ access:

AT&T Unlimited & More
AT&T Unlimited & More Premium
AT&T Unlimited Choice
AT&T Unlimited Choice II
AT&T Unlimited Choice Enhanced
AT&T Unlimited Plus
AT&T Unlimited Plus Enhanced
AT&T Unlimited Value
AT&T Unlimited

Why in the world does a carrier need nine different unlimited data plans? We know that many of these plans have been pushed aside over the years, but simpler is better. And that's not even counting AT&T's three current unlimited plans:

AT&T Unlimited Starter
AT&T Unlimited Extra
AT&T Unlimited Elite

For those that aren't in the know, AT&T 5G refers to the company's sub-6GHz spectrum, while 5G+ refers to the company's high-speed mmWave network, which can top 1Gbps+.

Also, AT&T said that it managed to capture 80MHz of spectrum during the government's C-band auction and plans to put its mid-band spectrum to use starting at the end of 2021. Not only will this bring faster speeds to more Americans, but it should expand 5G availability. At the moment, AT&T says that its existing 5G network covers 230 million Americans. As for its more exotic 5G+ network, it's currently accessible in 38 U.S. cities.

"From our fiber network backbone to the layers of wireless spectrum technology, we provide 5G network coverage that delivers the speeds, security and lower latency connections that customers and businesses need," said AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh. "Over the past five years, AT&T has invested more capital in the U.S. than any other public company."

Hopefully, these updates will make the 5G experience better for AT&T customers as availability expands across the United States.

Tags: Unlimited data, 5G, (NYSE:T), at&t

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.

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