So you’re on the move, browsing on your phone, when you spot a particular 5G+ icon on your phone’s status bar. What gives? Well, you should be happy because you just received a significant increase in connection speed. This 5G+ phone icon indicates that you’re connected to a much faster 5G iteration that runs on standalone 5G infrastructure.
In the US specifically, seeing the 5G+ icon flashing means you’re in an area where AT&T’s mmWave is available, which offers much better connections than regular 5G. For example, while download speeds with the “vanilla” variety reach 1 Gbps, 5G+ takes it up to 3 Gbps. The “plus” is also much more stable, even during peak hours.
Although major operators are phasing out 4G LTE, 5G deployment initially relied on readily available 4G network infrastructure. This worked in a pinch, so to speak, but it severely limited the performance of more modern networking technology. Things have changed since then and AT&T claims that mid-range 5G+ serves more than 300 million citizens. However, you actually have to be in specific places to get a taste.
Is 5G+ better than 5G?
In short, yes. 5G+ is much faster and more reliable. In fact, it’s the best mobile connection on the market, at least until 6G networks become available. Because it is based on a standalone architecture, 5G+ offers higher throughput than traditional 5G, which helps ensure network stability and predictability. Although connection ultimately depends on coverage and load (5G+ fares better during network congestion), the new 5G+ can be two or even three times faster than the older iteration. While 5G is barely capable of reaching download speeds of 1 Gbps, 5G+ can reach 3 Gbps. A similar thing happens with download speed and latency.
If your phone supports mmWave (for example, the band at the top of the iPhone 17 Pro hides the mmWave antenna) and you’re in an area with 5G+ coverage, you’ll see the plus icon on your status bar. However, you must remember that the new variety is a mid-band network. So while it may offer faster connection speeds, its range is quite short. This means you have to be much closer to the tower for this to work. Ultimately, standard 5G may be much slower, but, as a low-band network, it offers superior range. In other words, it still has its place to provide the best possible coverage. But if you notice 5G+ on your phone, it doesn’t hurt to note the location.
