North country 5G: Some providers roll local connections out rapidly, others stalled

Alex Gault, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·4 min read
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Aug. 29—The next generation of cellular service, 5G wireless, is active and rolling out across the U.S., but while some providers have launched wide 5G coverage in the north country, others have barely developed their networks at all.

Not all 5G service is the same. 5G offered through what is called the "low-band" is comparable to existing 4G networks, while 5G offered through the "mid and high bands" is much faster. Mid-band 5G is comparable to existing coaxial cable connections, while high-band 5G, also called mmWave, can provide up to 3 gigabytes per second of download speeds, fast enough to download a high-definition feature-length film in less than a minute.

The first telecommunications provider to offer 5G in the north country is T-Mobile, which merged with Sprint and absorbed its network to become one of the largest cell companies in the country.

Across most of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, T-Mobile has the widest 5G range in the region, with all but the most remote areas covered by its slower, low-band 5G service. The population centers of Watertown, Fort Drum, Carthage, Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Adams, Lowville, Croghan, Harrisville, Ogdensburg, Canton, Potsdam, Pierrepont, Massena and Malone all have access to 5G on the faster mid-range band.

A T-Mobile spokesperson said the first 5G antennas were turned on in Watertown last fall, so the company has offered at least the slower low-band service in the region for nearly a year. The company recently started advertising its faster mid- and high-band connections more aggressively in the north country, and last week began offering its 5G home internet service in the region, which requires at least mid-band connections.

"We are continuing to expand the network and do have plans to continue expanding 5G in Watertown, as well as in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties throughout this year and next," the spokesperson said.

AT&T is a close second in the region for 5G coverage, offering low-band 5G wireless along the major population centers of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and the highways connecting them. AT&T's high-band service is only available in New York in the Bronx, and is in a very limited number of other cities nationwide.

While most areas of Jefferson and Lewis counties are covered by AT&T's low-band service, Fort Drum and the southern portion of St. Lawrence County still have only 4G connections available.

An AT&T spokesperson said the company is continually investing in its network locally.

"Our wireless customers, including first responders in these areas currently have access to AT&T 5G," the spokesperson said. "AT&T using low-band spectrum offers fast speeds and reached more than 255 million people in more than 18,000 cities and towns in the U.S."

The spokesperson said New York overall saw over $1.6 billion invested in its AT&T-owned wireless and wired networks between 2019 and 2021, and that future investment decisions will be made based on network capacity, demand for services and the company's budget.

The other major cell network operator in Jefferson County, Verizon, has offered extremely limited 5G connectivity, only in Sandy Creek and across the county border into Oswego County. There, Verizon offers what it refers to as 5G nationwide, which is on the slower, low-band spectrum. The rest of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties have only 4G connections available from Verizon, and large parts of the region remain uncovered by any Verizon service at all.

A Verizon spokesperson said in an email that the company would not share specifics about 5G network connections in the region.

"I can tell you we are aggressively growing our network and are so glad folks are excited about having access to this game-changing technology," the spokesperson said.

First rolled out in major cities in 2019, 5G networks rely on similar technology to their 4G and 3G predecessors, but in a different configuration that provides much faster service.

On most devices with 5G capability, the band strength is viewable on the phone's 5G connection indicator along the top of the screen. A plain 5G symbol indicates a connection on the low-band, a 5G symbol with a small "UC" next to it indicates the mid-band range, and a 5G symbol with a small "UW" symbol next to it indicates a connection to the high-band network.

Cell providers are generally unspecific about which connection speeds they're offering between the mid- and high-band range, and some will restrict customers on the most basic plans to the low-band, slower network. Only newer cellular devices have access to the 5G range, and customers should contact their cell provider for more specific information on their connection capabilities and services available in their area.