AT&T just announced it which will extend 5G connectivity for free to customers with older unlimited plans starting this month.
Before today, if you bought a 5G phone, for example, one iPhone 12—And I wanted to activate it on AT & T’s 5G network, you had to upgrade to one of the operator’s newest unlimited plans (AT&T Unlimited Starter, Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Elite). These plans include the ability to takeThe advantage of the ultra-fast 5G network based on millimeter waves, which the company indicates with a 5G + icon, compared to normal 5G, which is slower than 5G +, and 5G E, which is not at all 5G. That’s fine, because having to change the unlimited plan for a different unlimited plan just to access 5G doesn’t make sense.
While it’s hard to say exactly when a particular customer will get the 5G upgrade, AT&T says it will send text to people notifying them when 5G is added to their plan. That said, it’s important to remember that people will already need to have a 5G-enabled device and be located in the area covered by AT & T’s 5G network.
After adding 5G to older unlimited consumption plans, AT&T will also expand its support for 5G to older unlimited business plans starting in April.
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While AT&T adding 5G support to old plans may seem like a small favor to people with old plans, the move seems almost a shot at Verizon, which announced earlier this week which will exclude customers from their less expensive measured and unlimited plans access to their 5G or 5G mmWave based on Verizon’s recently purchased C-band spectrum.
It is currently unclear whether AT&T will restrict 5G data after a certain point in these older unlimited plans, as they did not originally include 5G pricing. Gizmodo has contacted AT&T for clarification and we will update the story if we receive news.