AT&T Might Finally Ditch ‘5GE’ Marketing Following National Advertising Board Recommendation

Following a challenge from T-Mobile, the National Advertising Review Board today announced that it has recommended that AT&T discontinue its “5G Evolution” or “5GE” marketing claims, noting that they may be misleading to consumers.

“5G Evolution” is the branding that AT&T has been using in areas where the latest 4G LTE technologies like three-way carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO, and 256-QAM are available. Since the release of iOS 12.2, AT&T has been displaying a “5GE” label in place of “LTE” on iPhones that connect to its network in areas where those technologies are available.

AT&T stated that it “respectfully disagrees” with the decision, but it will comply with the recommendation as a “supporter of the self-regulatory process,” the National Advertising Review Board said. This could mark the end of the “5GE” label on iPhones, although it is unclear how long that may take. We’ve reached out to AT&T for comment.

AT&T has since launched its actual 5G network in select cities in the United States. The first 5G-enabled iPhones are expected to launch later this year.