Unfortunately this isn't allowed on iOS - Dell Mobile Connect is the only app I know of which has this functionality, and they access Messages via a Bluetooth connection between the computer and the iPhone.
You can buy a phone with the latest technology in it, designed and built to tomorrow's specification; and AT&T still won't support it, unless the manufacturer has paid them to certify it and put it on this list[0].
Very few people are advocating that they keep 3G around using 5x5MHz of spectrum for little gain; people are just advocating that they not limit consumers from using the supported device of their choice regardless of whether it's on the list.
> I think only one of the 2 slots fully supports LTE.
Both of the slots support LTE; OnePlus has made some frustrating power saving decisions though, which force the secondary (non-active) SIM to 3G when it's not in use.
This can be disabled (at least on my 7 Pro running Android 10) via logkit following these steps[0]. Once disabled, the phone will fully support VoLTE on both SIMs.
> It is not just "old" or 3G-only phones, it is any phone that is not explicitly on their whitelist.
This is correct. The whitelist that they're using specifically is here[0].
Some phone representatives will claim to people that they need a "5G Phone" - this is misleading, either on purpose (because the rep wants to increase their sales figures), or accidentally (because the rep isn't well trained on how to handle this situation).
AT&T will provide alternative phones for free, but they usually aren't great. Last I heard it was an iPhone SE (2020) for existing iPhone users and a low-to-mid range Android phone for existing Android users.
Personally, I believe that they're worried about a repeat of this incident[0] - and the way they're ensuring that that can't happen is to test and 'certify' all phones before customers are allowed to use them.
Conveniently, they get to charge manufacturers for this certification process; and if consumers don't have a compatible phone, they get to advertise new expensive ones which come with installment plans.
Overall, it's a win-win for AT&T, and a loss for customers.
> If its rolled out on 26ghz its bad in range. Sub 6 GHZ 5G rollout is as good or better than 4G on the same frequencies.
Range will be the same, but coverage can technically be a bit lower. This is because the modulation used for 5G uplink (phone to cell site) - OFDMA - is more complex than the modulation used for LTE uplink (SC-FDMA).
This is the same reason you might’ve been in a very rural area and seen 2G. It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a 2G-only cell tower nearby; just that the 2G signals are more resilient to interference and signal loss.
The downside to that resilience is, of course, much lower complexity, and thus it can carry less binary data.
The radio interface used is 3G/4G, but it still used circuit switching instead of IMS (which uses GPRS channel - just like your 3G/4G/5G data - and SIP, iirc)
For those who are thinking, "why do we need Net Neutrality? When have you actually seen an example of providers throttling content?" - there's a pretty egregious one that's been present for years now.
For those with American mobile phone plans, switch over to LTE or 5G, and run two "speed tests": One on Ookla Speedtest[0], and one on Netflix's fast.com[1]. If you don't have the top-tier plan on T-Mobile or AT&T, or have the $10/line "Premium Streaming" addon on Verizon (which pushes, but doesn't remove, the throttle), your speeds on Speedtest should appear quite a bit faster than on Netflix.
If you're seeing very low speeds on both tests, there's more likely something else at play (wireless interference, circuit congestion, poor signal, etc).
California's Net Neutrality law specifically outlaws this practice, and this is one of the big reasons carriers are upset about it. I'd recommend reading the text [2] of the law - it's fairly short and easy to understand, with definitions provided.
In addition to what was noted by a sibling comment (emergency calls are given higher priority than your standard commercial voice or data traffic), there is specifically an exemption listed in California's Net Neutrality law [0] for emergency traffic.
> 3103. (a) Nothing in this title supersedes any obligation or authorization a fixed or mobile Internet service provider may have to address the needs of emergency communications or law enforcement, public safety, or national security authorities, consistent with or as permitted by applicable law, or limits the provider’s ability to do so.
