New network technology means new terms to learn.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
If you’ve noticed cryptic new icons popping up on your phone next to the 5G logo, you’re not alone. Carriers are expanding their 5G networks in a big way this year, and those little “UW” and “UC” logos you’re suddenly seeing represent the different varieties of 5G you’re encountering in the wild. Like Pokémon, but way more confusing.Nope. There are low, mid, and high-band varieties of 5G spectrum. They all provide different levels of data speeds, and all major US carriers use all three.
If you see the 5G UW icon on your phone, chances are you’re on the mid-band network. If you’re on mmWave, you’ll notice a big difference in data speeds. But if your data just seems noticeably fast, notVerizon refers to its low-band 5G as 5G Nationwide. You’re connected to this network if you just see a 5G logo on your phone without “UW” next to it. And if your reaction to seeing that 5G icon pop up is something like “Huh, this doesn’t seem any faster than 4G,” you’re not imagining things.
to its mid-band expansion. A 5G logo without the “Plus” refers to the carrier’s low-band 5G network, which, it’s worth repeating, is not much faster than LTE.A few years ago, before any sort of meaningful 5G network existed in the US, AT&T got creative and started branding some of its 4G LTE as “5G Evolution.” It is not 5G, and an ad review boardA 5G UC icon means you’re probably on Sprint’s, er, T-Mobile’s mid-band network.
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