Special to The Swellesley Report from resident Cimarron Buser
This article was updated on Feb. 2, 2022 to reflect clarifications from AT&T.
The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant (WMLP) has completed its installation of AT&T’s antennas that boost coverage and provide 5G data service. The mounting of the small cell antennas began in June 2020, when the WMLP announced that boxes would be affixed to telephone poles around town.
In the end, there were 41 AT&T nodes installed. Based on the map provided by the WMLP, 36% of the boxes have been installed on or adjacent to Worcester St. (Route 9) or Washington St. (Route 16), and the remainder in neighborhoods.
Don Newell, Director of the Municipal Light Plant, stated that the AT&T project was now completed. According to current plans, the MLP will be installing 35 small cell antenna attachments for T-Mobile over the next five months.
Newell added, “WMLP and T-Mobile will be holding an informational webinar in February 2022. The staff are in the process of finalizing the locations and installation schedules.” There was no mention of Verizon, however, coverage maps from industry sources show Verizon with 4G coverage along major travel routes in Wellesley.
I first became aware of the installation near my house in Wellesley Hills when I found my AT&T phone coverage showing “5 bars”. This was a striking improvement over the weak reception I’ve had in the past. By using the Speedtest app I was able to obtain download speeds of 150 Mbps+ on an iPhone SE second generation, which showed “5GE” service. When I used an iPhone 12, it showed “5G” with a download speed of over 200 Mbps, and I suspect it would be much faster nearer the antenna. According to AT&T the current network is a “4G LTE”, even if the phone icons show otherwise.
When I investigated why my service was so much improved, I found that one of the “small cell” antennas had been installed about 2/10 of a mile from my house, and that the family room was “line of sight” to the pole with the AT&T node. All of this to say that most people, unless they are directly in view of the new AT&T boxes, will not see 200 Mbps downloads. I tested this theory by walking the street, as there are two of the small cells about 0.5 miles from each other. In between the two poles, the download rate dropped to about 40 Mbps, which is still not bad.
Although some may have concerns about the cosmetics of the new cell arrays, several neighbors I spoke with seem to have no such worries. Most commented that the gray rectangular nodes are no worse than the existing cable and transformer boxes that already festoon the poles. One neighbor whose house had a new box installed directly in front of them said that they switched to AT&T from their previous provider when the installation was completed – and now have great coverage.
While Wellesley is continuing down the 5G path, there is still controversy at the national level with the technology. Just this week, major airlines warned of “catastrophic disruption” to travel and shipping from 5G installations by Verizon and AT&T near airports. Verizon and AT&T had agreed to delay activating 5G using the newly acquired C-band spectrum twice: originally from December 5 and then pushed back again from a planned January 5 launch date until two weeks later. The delays were meant to give the industries, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), FCC and White House more time to address concerns.
Time will tell if the 5G rollout will be slowed down due to these concerns, but at least in Wellesley we will have the benefit of better reception and faster speeds from AT&T, and soon T-Mobile.
What is 5G and when does it arrive in Wellesley?
According to industry sources, “5G is a 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard that enables a new kind of network.” There are many variations of 5G technology, some of which use existing 4G LTE infrastructure.
In Wellesley, AT&T’s small cell antenna installation is based on 4G LTE technology.
When asked about why some phones in Wellesley may show “5G” speeds an AT&T spokesman said: “The technology is 4G LTE currently, however 5G may display on devices due to overlapping coverage from nearby macro cells. The equipment is 5G capable which can be enabled in the future. And additional radio frequency equipment can be added for more speed, whether 4G or 5G.”
We’ll keep a close eye out to see if things speed up even more!
Cimarron Buser is a longtime resident of Wellesley, and is founder and CEO of TASBIA, an association for the appointment scheduling industry.
I spoke with the the town this morning. Very nice and professional! First, for both t-mobile and AT&T these are 4G mini towers not 5G. However, eventually these will be converted over to 5G.
Second, Verizon Wireless did not seem that interested in working with the town as one of the requirements were to provide full coverage to the whole town. The town will be following back up with Verizon Wireless in 5-6 months to see if they are re interested.
Hi Steve, thank you for sharing this additional info. Bob, Swellesley
Hi Steve, Thanks for looking into this! I’m still unclear what “5G” means here in Wellesley. My iPhone 12 showed 5G statistics in the “Field Test” app, and so I assumed that was the case. One thought is that AT&T deployed 5G through a “Non Standalone” (NSA) architecture in which the 5G networks are supported by existing LTE infrastructure.
Don Newell from the town has kindly offered to contact AT&T to get more details, and I’ll report back when I get his answer.
Steve, You are correct – AT&T confirmed it’s 4G LTE even if the phone may show a 5G icon and/or connection. The article has been updated to reflect this. Thank you!
Bob,
One of your best articles to date! Can you reach out to the town please and ask about if there are any plans to add Verizon Wireless mini towers please?
Hopefully coming from might make them realize this is a bigger issue for people with Verizon wireless.
Yes, AT&T has been roundly criticized for their use of the term “5GE” which they call “5G Evolution”, but is in fact upgraded 4G LTE. They were sued by Sprint and settled in 2020, but it still shows up on the iPhone. Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere called the marketing scheme “nonsense” and said “we both know the correct term is ‘5G-BS.'”
However, here in Wellesley, the data speed difference between “5GE” and “5G” (as currently implemented) is not massively different for most of us. And you can at least get decent coverage for voice calls!
Service has gotten much better in town in the last 2 years–that’s great news.
Great post, and helpful link Cimarron… If you use the FCC Speed test app, you’ll notice what AT&T does with their marketing… An iPhone labeled “5G” or “5Ge” with AT&T is really 4G (the FCC app points this out)…
Good article on this:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/5g-ultra-wideband-5g-uc-5g-plus-understanding-the-different-names-and-flavors-of-5g/
Would love an update on when fiber is being rolled out to residents from WMLP…
On Parker Rx fios Verizon 1 bar
My Verizon coverage is not great. Does anyone know if there are such “booster” plans for verizon?
No word on Verizon yet…
Regarding the comment about the cosmetics of the new boxes, what is really unacceptable is the loose, not attached to the poles’ cables running down and up these.
The former:Executive Director of General Gov’t Services Hans Larsen requested that the telephone/cable companies correct the unsightly problem and he got nowhere.
For the T-Mobile mini towers they are adding do you know if it’s their c-band version (shorter distance however much faster 5G)?
Also, has the town mentioned anything about Verizon Wireless.
I’m not sure which approach T-Mobile is taking in Wellesley. However, T-Mobile has been pushed their “mid-band” 5G network for the last several years, rather than C-band. I suggest that is what they will roll out here. It would be pretty fast, but not as fast as C-band.
To quote a recent release from T-Mobile: “C-band spectrum is great. We bought a bunch of it, too. But spectrum obeys the immutable laws of physics. The higher the frequency, the shorter the distance it can travel and the more easily it is blocked by objects. C-band is 3.7 to 3.98 GHz. T-Mobile’s existing mid-band 5G network uses 2.5 GHz spectrum. Higher banded spectrum cannot travel as far.”
See https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/the-current-state-of-5g for the T-Mobile viewpoint.
Check it out for yourself:
CNN REPORT in 1985 Admitting EMF’s + 60ghz 5G IS A WEAPON
Is there a connection between CoV2 shots and 5G? TASBIA was instrumental in providing tech support for shot appointments and now the TASBIA founder is providing a “Special” on 5G. Wellesley Residents are not concerned with the cosmetics of the 5G cell arrays but rather the capability of 5G to be used as a weapon to control the minds of American citizens.
If you’re interested in testing your connect speed I suggest the FCC Speed Test app. It’s at https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/fcc-speed-test-app-tip-sheet
Great explanations and easy to use.
The app also shares test data (anonymously) which keeps the carriers honest!
I was shocked many years ago while at Sprague School, AT&T had almost no reception 2010-2013 and around areas near the High School. Glad to see this matter is getting attention.