The high-speed competition is heating up in major U.S. cities with AT&T‘s deployment of Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) devices in several sites around downtown Chicago. PC Mag tested download speeds with a regular Samsung Galaxy S9, standing on a street, and scored 537 Mbps.
Using 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum, LAA is allowing wireless carriers access for their LTE networks. Major carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon – are now deploying LAA in congested, urban areas. PC Mag reported that the spectrum cells have approximate radiuses of 150 to 400 feet.
To put the test in perspective, if a single device downloads at 537 Mbps, that means 10 devices will chug along at 50 Mbps each without clogging up the cell or the spectrum.
Consumers should note that they’ll need an LAA-compatible phone to access these lightning-fast download speeds, like a Samsung Galaxy S8, Note 8, or S9; currently, iPhones are not yet compatible.
AT&T is currently rolling out LAA in major cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Indianapolis, plus has plans to launch it in at least 24 cities before the end of 2018.
April 2, 2018
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