In a recent blog on network slicing in 5G I suggested the performance options it would enable would lead to much confusing and misleading advertising. But why rely on such subtle distinctions between service offerings when you can simply rebrand 4G as 5G?
Apparently that is exactly what AT&T has done, according to this article in Telecoms.com, headlined “AT&T is now effectively lying to its customers.”
Author Jamie Davis writes that AT&T has switched on its LTE-Advanced service, which it has branded 5G Evolution (5Ge). However LTE-A is unequivocally a 4G service according to 3GPP, which sets the standards for both 4G and 5G.
Not content with this naming deception AT&T is apparently promulgating it to the screens of smartphone users. “A ‘5Ge’ symbol will appear in the corner of Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, LG V30, and LG V40 devices. … AT&T feels the need to intentionally try to mislead customers, fooling them into believing they are receiving 5G data services,” Davis reports.
He asks: “Why AT&T feels it is appropriate to deceive its customers so blatantly is beyond us.” He should not be surprised. AT&T has form in this regard. It played exactly the same trick on its customers some years ago as LTE-A, the first true 4G technology, was being introduced offering performance superior to the technology of HSPA+.
Cellular Newsreported in October 2011: “Although the latest iPhone model is limited to 3G speeds, it is reported that AT&T has agreed with Apple that the network indicator will show 4G when connected to its HSPA+ network.”
(I can’t provide a link to the article because Cellular Newshas shut down and the domain name cellular-news.com is up for sale.)
Readers may remember that, back in the day, there was widespread misrepresentation of 3G technology as 4G and the ITU fought a losing battle to corral the use of the term ‘4G’ to those technologies it had defined as 4G.
Cellular Newsreported: “The phone is limited to a maximum download speed of 14.4Mbps, and 5.8Mbps upload — both of which are the upper limit for standard HSPA services, and below the accepted level for HSPA+, which was reluctantly accepted by the ITU last year as being a 4G service.”
It’s worth remembering these lessons from history as the 5G hype gathers momentum. Exactly one year ago, EE Times technical editor Martin Rowe concluded an article headed 5G: Let the Hype Commenceby predicting that the lack of a complete 5G standard would not hinder the marketers.
He made the point that there are multiple components of 5G and their implementation in commercial networks will be progressive.
“Say, for example, that the first 5G deployment uses beamforming. Marketers will claim 5G speeds even though they will not reach full potential until some time later,” he said.
“Then assume that network slicing and software-defined networks or true 5G NR [New Radio] come next. Marketers will call that ‘5G-Plus’ or something like that. By the time 5G is completely deployed, we just might hear the marketers call it 6G.”
It’s taken about seven years for the deception and obfuscation around 3G versus 4G to be repeated for 5G. Given the general acceleration of technology development I’d give it five before we see the term 6G being bandied around.