AT&T to Stop Calling Its Network ‘5G Evolution’ (Sort Of)

AT&T has agreed to stop using the “5G evolution” term to market the carrier’s 4G networks. But don’t expect the 5GE label to disappear completely. 

On Wednesday, a panel from the National Advertising Review Board (NARB) told AT&T to drop its “5G Evolution, The First Step to 5G,” claims because the marketing can mislead consumers into believing they have access to a 5G network. In reality, they do not; the customers are simply on an upgraded 4G network. 

The panel “concluded that the term ‘Evolution’ is not likely to alert consumers to the fact that the service is not 5G,” the NARB said in today’s announcement. The decision reaffirms an earlier recommendation made in December after T-Mobile brought up the issue before the National Advertising Division. 

In response, AT&T said it disagreed with today’s ruling, but plans on following the recommendation. “AT&T’s customers nationwide continue to benefit from dramatically superior speeds and performance that its current network provides. As a supporter of the self-regulatory process, however, AT&T will comply with the NARB’s decision,” the carrier told PCMag.

Still, AT&T said it’s already dropped the 5G Evolution term from its marketing. But when asked whether AT&T would remove the “5G E” indicator from smartphones, the carrier refrained from offering a direct answer. “This decision applies only to advertising,” a carrier spokesperson said. 

As a result, we suspect the 5G E indicator is here to stay, despite the NARB’s recommendation. The carrier has been using the term 5G Evolution since at least 2017, and began displaying the 5G E indicator on applicable smartphones last year.

Only recently has AT&T started rolling out a true 5G network across certain US cities. According to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, the carrier’s low-band 5G system has average download speeds of 77.7Mbps for about a 25 percent increase over 5G E networks.

Meanwhile, AT&T’s much faster 5G millimeter-wave network can deliver average download speeds at 723Mbps. However, the technology is limited in range while the low-band 5G system can cover entire metro areas.

Disclosure: Ookla is owned by PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis.

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