US operator AT&T's new list shows that "old 5G equipment" will not support its newer 3.45Ghz mid-band 5G. In this way, only Apple iPhone 14 series users and some other 5G mobile phone customers can use this new frequency band. After spending more than $9 billion on the 3.45Ghz spectrum, AT&T backtracked on its promise to upgrade older devices to support the new band, and now AT&T says it will be limited to hosting some new 2022 devices, excluding the iPhone SE, according to CNET 3 5G phones.
Jim Greer, assistant vice president of enterprise communications at AT&T, provided a list of which devices will take advantage of this new frequency band:
- Samsung Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max
- Netgear Nighthawk M6 and Nighthawk M6 Pro Hotspot
CNET emphasized that while 5G smartphone users will be able to use AT&T's 5G network, they will not be able to take advantage of the band because "the carrier plans to use both Incompatible users will not be able to experience it."
Chris Sambar, executive vice president of AT&T Networks, previously said that while not every cell site can use both 3.45GHz and C-band, "most" will use both.
AT&T will still sell a variety of older 5G phones, and it's unclear whether the carrier will explain to existing and new customers that these smartphones won't be able to connect to the company's full 5G network.
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