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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.

4 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Mine was upgraded by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    My phone was upgraded today with the new beta and I am enjoying the new speeds. And it was free!

  2. Re:They're poisoning their own system by mjwx · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People will notice. I mean, yes, they'll be suckered in for the "new", but soon they'll find out that the new is just a new coat of paint on the old. And then? You think they'll get "6G" (or whatever the next gen thing will be) once they have been burned now?

    Fuck those quarter-report idiots.

    Like they noticed AT&T passing off 3G as 4G... Right, guys, right? They all noticed that.

    Back when G had a definition, few people knew it. Now it doesn't have a definition, so phone companies can call whatever they like 5G. Its not like the US has an advertising standards agency or anything to punish companies who deliberately advertise misleading information. Hell, AT&T would get away with it by simply saying that 5G stands for G-G-G-G-Good.

    They system was poisoned a long time ago but it never harmed the people doing the poisoning.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  3. 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 Solandri · · Score: 4, Interesting

      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.