AT&T has debuted a new service option that will enable customers to buy better network performance for an extra $7 per month, and indicated that the new capability is a first step that will be expanded upon.
The service, AT&T Turbo, is available as of today. AT&T touts the service as providing “real-time responsiveness and improved stability” and that Turbo is “built to support using high-performance mobile applications, like gaming, social video broadcasting and live video conferencing, with optimized data while customers are on the go.”
It offers up the example of gaming, saying that it customer “want less freezing or stuttering and lower latency when milliseconds matter in gaming, AT&T Turbo can help offer real-time responsiveness by improving the performance of customers’ data on the network.”
However, AT&T—presumably anticipating some raised eyebrows now that net neutrality is again the law of the land for broadband services—also states that because the service accelerates all of a consumers’ services (rather than speeding up only certain, favored apps or sites), that it is “consistent with open internet principles.”
Turbo is available to users with 5G devices and plans, although an AT&T spokesperson told RCR Wireless News that the feature “remains active if customers find themselves on LTE.”
Asked about the technology mechanism, the spokesperson said that the service is not network-slicing-based, and differentiated between slicing and Turbo. “AT&T Turbo lifts high-speed data on a customer’s connection while slicing optimizes a connection to support particular use cases,” they explained via email. “Once turned on, the AT&T Turbo boost applies to a customer’s high speed and hot spot data regardless of the internet content, applications, and services being used. Customers can choose to turn on additional network resources on select plans giving them a smoother and more stable experience when needed for applications, like gaming, when on the go.”
The Mobile Report, citing a leaked image and video, has reported that Turbo allows AT&T customers to bump their Quality of Service Class Identifier, or QCI, to a tier with higher priority—though not as high as that of first responders on AT&T’s FirstNet.
Customers can add or remove the Turbo service option online, or through the myAT&T app. “With AT&T Turbo, we are the first to give customers the choice to activate enhanced data with a few clicks. We know customers want more control of their experience, especially while on the go, and AT&T Turbo answers that call by putting it all at our customers’ fingertips,” said Erin Scarborough, SVP of consumer product for AT&T.
AT&T also added that Turbo is a “first step in modernizing and preparing our mobile network for future innovative use cases.” It expounded on that by saying that it has seen both exponential traffic growth as well as real-time applications that are more technically demanding. “Latency-sensitive applications will continue to need more enhanced network technologies to perform their best, so we plan to continue to advance and evolve AT&T Turbo,” AT&T added.
