Today, AT&T announced that it has expanded its 5G network to 137 new markets in the United States, adding up to a total of 327 markets where the network is now available. The new markets include cities in over 30 states, notably including Anchorage, Alaska. T-Mobile recently enabled its own 5G network in the state, becoming the first U.S. carrier to bring 5G to all 50 states, but it"s no longer alone there.
With this expansion, AT&T now says its 5G network is covering over 160 million people, making it one of the more broadly available 5G networks, trailing T-Mobile"s, which was said to cover over 200 million people when it launched in December of last year. As you might expect, this expansion applies only to AT&T"s sub-6GHz network, just like T-Mobile"s "nationwide" coverage is based on the 600MHz spectrum. AT&T does offer mmWave 5G, which it is now referring to as 5G+, but only in 35 cities across the United States.
Last summer, the carrier had promised nationwide 5G coverage by the first half of 2020, but the expansion has likely slowed down in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, a few cities were added earlier in the year, and the latest expansion brings it much closer to that goal.
Along with the broader availability of the 5G network, AT&T also announced that the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G will be available at AT&T stores on July 10. You can pre-order it starting this Friday, and it costs $599.99, making it the cheapest 5G phone the carrier offers.