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Apple Just Endorsed AT&T's Fake 5G E Network (theverge.com)
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.
If they're running fiber to the end of your street, then it's stupid to run ADSL from there to your home. ADSL tops out at 24 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up. VDSL provides much more bandwidth at distances under 1 km. It's capable of hitting 300 Mbps down, 100 Mbps up over Cat 3 for extremely short distances. That's why some ISPs are using it for fiber in the street, with VDSL2 from the street to the home over existing Cat 3 wires.
What's more likely is that AT&T's marketing is trying to obfuscate the limited availability of their fiber network, by intentionally labeling everything (FTTH, fiber + VDSL, and ADSL) as "U-Verse". And you just happened to be in one of the ADSL areas.