AT&T expands Air wireless 5G home internet to 16 cities
After finally getting on board with 5G home internet earlier this month, AT&T announced today that it's expanding its wireless internet service to 16 cities.
At launch earlier this month, AT&T Air was only available to what the company called a "select group of customers identified as eligible to upgrade to the new service." But starting today, customers in 16 cities can sign up for the new service.
These are the new markets: Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon, PA, Hartford-New Haven, CT, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Phoenix (Prescott), Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, Seattle-Tacoma, and Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota).
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When announcing the list of cities to have access at first, AT&T noted that "later, everyone will have the opportunity to consider AT&T Internet Air for their home internet service, where available."
The service, AT&T says, is a simple self-install that can be up and running in under 15 minutes. Customers can use the "Smart Home Manager" app to find optimal placement in their homes, and Wi-Fi extenders are available.
AT&T Air will use the same 5G network as the company's cell phones use, offering download speeds of 40-140 Mbps. That's faster than the DSL service the company has been phasing out, but speed does depend on 5G coverage in your area.
Unlike DSL, Air will have no data caps, AT&T says.
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The price per month is $55 a month, putting it in line with similar services from other providers. There's no contract required, and AT&T claims there won't be a price increase after the first 12 months. And since AT&T is a participant in the Affordable Connectivity Act, qualified customers can save $30 a month off that price.