AT&T has been aggressive with its 5G rollout plan to the point you might have 5G service in your area before there are even any 5G phones to buy. The company says about a dozen cities will have 5G by the end of the year, but it's being coy by drawing out the announcement. We had a few before, but now AT&T has announced three more: Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Raleigh.

Previously, AT&T announced Dallas, Waco, and Atlanta as 5G cities. So, we have now accounted for half of AT&T's initial 5G rollout. Note, this is different than 5G Evolution, with is an LTE technology that AT&T recently deployed in more than 100 markets. True 5G will start with millimeter wave bands, which can push a lot of data at the expense of range. AT&T says more bands will merge into 5G later.

The equipment AT&T is deploying in the aforementioned cities will allow it to migrate to full 5G service at a later date. AT&T currently plans to have a WiFi hotspot available for 5G service when the new network launches. Phones most likely won't arrive until sometime in 2019.

Source: AT&T