AT&T says it's the first US network to reach 2Gbps speeds on 5G
Don't expect to achieve that in real life.
The chest-thumping over 5G continues. AT&T has reported that it achieved the first 2Gbps speeds on a 5G network in the US. It achieved the feat using a Netgear mobile router on the carrier's public-facing network in the Atlanta area. The performance comes less than a month after the provider cracked the gigabit mark in multiple cities.
If you could sustain that performance, you'd download a two-hour "HD" movie in the space of ten seconds, AT&T claimed.
However, the operative term is "if." As we witnessed first-hand with our tests on Verizon's network (disclaimer: that's our parent company), reaching those speeds is currently unlikely with any provider. You need a millimeter wave connection that's rare, especially indoors where the signals fall off quickly. And of course, this is a hotspot device. It's not yet clear how well the tech will fare in phones with built-in 5G. This does show the potential of 5G, but it could be a long while before you can expect this kind of performance outside of ideal conditions.
