AT&T has named the first US cities that will receive mobile 5G (T)

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AT&T announced plans to roll out 5G mobile internet to consumers in a dozen US cities this year, including areas of Atlanta, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, the company announced Wednesday.

The early mobile 5G deployments will be based on the newly accepted industry standard for 5G technology, which was affirmed in December by 3GPP, the international wireless standards body.

The 5G network will be powered by technologies including software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), which will enable the carrier to quickly develop, deploy, and protect the network. By 2020, AT&T plans to virtualize over 75% of its network, up from 55% in 2017, using the SDN framework.

To aid AT&T in its goal of becoming the first US company to launch a 5G cellular network, the company is launching a new 5G innovation center and test lab. The 5G lab is set to open in Austin, Texas, and will be used to conduct stress tests, simulating real-world customer experiences, before rolling out the technology to consumers. AT&T’s first project at the lab, for instance, is the Advanced 5G NR Testbed System (ANTS), which will enable the carrier to trial novel and advanced features on a simulated 5G network for use on the company’s 5G mobile network.

5G technology will pave the way for the adoption of new and advanced technologies.The ability of 5G to transmit data roughly 10 times as fast as 4G, the current standard, will revolutionize the connected world. The technology is expected to completely overhaul the tech industry thanks to its ability to connect and support a wide range of IoT-connected devices, enhance VR and AR experiences, and enable faster and more reliable mobile video.

Of course, AT&T isn’t the only US carrier committed to being the first to deploy a 5G network in the US. AT&T is joining Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, all of which have already announced their 5G rollout plans. Verizon announced in December that it will offer wireless home broadband internet services in up to five US cities in 2018, starting with Sacramento, California. Meanwhile, Sprint and T-Mobile plan to launch 5G networks by the end of 2019.

Being a leader in 5G deployment is a major boon for AT&T considering high-speed internet is a must-have for wireless customers. Overall, 84% of consumers said that a high-speed mobile network is the most important offering to consider when selecting a wireless provider, according to BI Intelligence’s exclusive Digital Telecom Consumer survey.

It hasn't been smooth sailing for telecoms in recent years. Native voice and messaging services, which once accounted for the vast majority of telecoms' subscriber revenue, are struggling to compete with over-the-top (OTT) apps, like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber — and they're losing.

Laurie Beaver, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has written a detailed report on the mobile carrier landscape that:

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AT&T has named the first US cities that will receive mobile 5G (T)

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