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AT&T's 4G LTE network goes live in Chicago; images reveal impressive speeds

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:27PM EST
BGR

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AT&T’s 4G LTE network went live this past weekend in the Chicago area, and initial speed tests reveal impressive download speeds. AT&T has yet to announce the availability of LTE service in Chicago or any other launch market, but BGR has obtained exclusive images and speed test results from a source who has tested the network there. Ahead of an official launch, AT&T 4G LTE service is likely to be available only intermittently during testing, though it is also possible that Chicago has been soft launched following the launch of AT&T’s first two 4G LTE devices last week. Read on for more.

Our source used an AT&T Elevate 4G LTE mobile hotspot to perform speed tests in the Chicago area. Using both an iPhone 4 and a MacBook connected to the Elevate via Wi-Fi, he found that download speeds topped out at around 13Mbps and upload speeds reached just over 2Mbps. It should be noted, however, that the speeds achieved during these tests do not necessarily represent the data speeds AT&T subscribers will see once the network officially goes live. In addition, our source said that the Elevate never had more than three bars of service during the tests, which is another indication that AT&T’s 4G LTE network is not in a launch-ready state. Images of 4G LTE speed test results on the iPhone 4 and MacBook can be seen in our photo gallery, which is linked above.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.