AT&T wireless network
The slowest of the big-three on mid-band rollout, partly due to FAA C-band/altimeter dispute. Solid prepaid bench through Cricket, plus several MVNOs (H2O, Lyca on AT&T tier).
Quick facts
| Type | Mobile Network Operator (MNO) — owns spectrum and towers |
|---|---|
| 5G branding | 5G+ for mid-band, 5G for low-band |
| 5G launch | 2019 (low-band), 2022 (C-band) |
| Plans on this network | 8 in our database |
| Cheapest plan | H2O Wireless 5GB — $30.00/mo |
Spectrum tiers
The AT&T network operates across three frequency tiers, each with its own reach-vs-speed trade-off. See our 5G primer for what these mean in practice.
| Low-band | n5 (850 MHz), n12 (700 MHz) — broad reach, modest speeds (50–200 Mbps) |
|---|---|
| Mid-band | n77 (3.7 GHz / C-band), n66 (1.7/2.1 GHz) — ~1 mile reach, fast speeds (200–700 Mbps) |
| mmWave | n260 (39 GHz), n261 (28 GHz) — line-of-sight only, gigabit speeds |
Carriers and MVNOs riding this network
All 3 active brands in our database that use AT&T's towers and spectrum. Carrier-owned brands sit higher in the deprioritization queue during congestion than third-party MVNOs.
- AT&T (MNO — owns the network)
- Cricket Wireless (MVNO)
- H2O Wireless (MVNO)