AT&T is bringing in the holidays by offering a little taste of 5G early, thanks to the company’s new mobile hotspot. The carrier announced on Tuesday that it will be launching its limited 5G service in only a dozen cities across the United States this Friday, though access will only be available via the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot.
After purchasing the router, you will gain access to the new network speeds – which will become available on Friday in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Raleigh, San Antonio and Waco. AT&T plans to further expand to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose by early next year.
The first release of 5G smartphones are also right around the corner, with Samsung notably having already announced two handsets for 2019. The carrier will offer the router in the spring for a $499 initial fee, plus $70 a month for 15GB of data. Plus, there will be no long-term commitment, at a price that is around the same as the current 4G hotspots, the company notes.