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Apple Just Endorsed AT&T's Fake 5G E Network (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

There are no 5G iPhones, and there probably won't be 5G iPhones for a while. But that isn't stopping Apple and AT&T: they are reportedly rolling out AT&T's fake "5G E" branding with its upcoming iOS 12.2 update. From a report: Much like when the two companies pulled this scam with 4G and LTE back in 2012, if you can't beat them, you roll out a software update to make it look like you did even though the phones and network are still exactly the same. Multiple users on Twitter are now reporting that they're seeing the new 5G E icon on devices running the latest iOS 12.2 beta 2, which was released earlier today. The new icon isn't there for everyone, presumably because it will only appear in cities where AT&T's 5G Evolution network -- the company's intentionally misleading name for its LTE network that it seems to hope customers will confuse for actual, next-generation 5G networks -- is active.

5 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. AT&T always does this .... by King_TJ · · Score: 4, Informative

    Look at AT&T U-Verse service. It was marketed as broadband that goes head-to-head with cable internet services or something like Verizon FiOS. Their marketing made a big deal about it using fiber, even. Yet it's *really* just a fancy way to squeeze about 18mbit/sec download speeds, maximum, out of copper wire intended for voice land line phone use. (Sure, they run fiber as far as the nearest phone box at the end of a neighborhood street. But all the gear in the box converts the fiber to a form of DSL service they can run over the copper from there to a customer's site.)

    1. Re:AT&T always does this .... by Drethon · · Score: 3, Informative

      Look at AT&T U-Verse service. It was marketed as broadband that goes head-to-head with cable internet services or something like Verizon FiOS. Their marketing made a big deal about it using fiber, even. Yet it's *really* just a fancy way to squeeze about 18mbit/sec download speeds, maximum, out of copper wire intended for voice land line phone use. (Sure, they run fiber as far as the nearest phone box at the end of a neighborhood street. But all the gear in the box converts the fiber to a form of DSL service they can run over the copper from there to a customer's site.)

      When they first came out with U-Verse it was faster than any available DSL and as around the speed of cable while having much lower ping times (I could not play online games in our area with cable but U-Verse was fine). However that approach has a much lower ceiling than cable so it is no longer that great, and since then cable (or maybe just the provider I moved to) seems to have improved the issue with ping times.

  2. Re:They're poisoning their own system by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Informative

    This video is still relevant today...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  3. Re:How is this not illegal? by Zmobie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, I wrote a post about this a loooooooooooong time ago and the only reason they "met" the standard is they lobbied the FCC to change the definition of 4G in a legal sense. They never met the technical standard, and I'm not sure they even do now... This is normal marketing voodoo. They already rolled this crap out to several Android handsets and I've had people comment thinking exactly what AT&T wants, and then I quickly inform them they just changed the icon basically...

  4. No click for you, Verge. by zarmanto · · Score: 3, Informative

    Much like when the two companies pulled this scam...

    Nope, nope, nope! That's just stereotypical Apple-hater clickbait; nothing new to see here, folks. The geeks who actually care about this stuff have already read at least one of the previous articles on the topic, such as last month's article which pointed out that AT&T had then already enlisted Samsung and LG to label their phones in this manner. Also, it's worth noting that the two previous articles were both from The Verge, like this one... so I guess Verge is just really pumped about recycling. (Not the "good" kind of recycling... but still.) And as far as I can tell from the summary, this newer version of the story has utterly no purpose other than to enrage Android uses into hating on Apple some more... so that Verge can put a few more ads in front of hapless eyeballs.

    So yeah, screw that crap; you'll have to do a hell of a lot better than that to get your ad revenue out of me, Verge.