5G UC, UW and Plus: What Do They Mean?

Have you recently noticed 5G UC, UW, Plus, or any other mysterious symbol around the network area on your smartphone? If yes, we will calm your curiosity by explaining what is 5G UC, UW, and Plus, and mean on iPhones and Android smartphones using T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and other carriers.

5G is the latest generation of cellphone networks, significantly faster than the previous one (4G or LTE). Most new smartphones these days, even the budget Android devices, are equipped with 5G technology to let you browse the internet at very high speeds. However, 5G isn’t a single ray of the network but a wide band.

That’s why network providers use their terminologies for various 5G bands. This may confuse a lot of consumers. If you’re one of them, read below.

What Is 5G UC And UW?

5G is the latest generation of global wireless networks continuing the naming standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G. It’s the newest band of networks to community and transfers data. It comes with higher Gb/s data speeds, lower latency, and improved bandwidth than the previous generation.

Basically, 5G is used to denote the umbrella of bands that come under the network, not just a single type. Different network carriers offer different made types, including low-range, mid-range, and high-range. Thus, they also use their terminologies to name the networks.

5G UC stands for 5G Ultra Capacity, which T-Mobile offers high-band and mid-band networks. Launched in 2021, 5G UC appears on the top left or right section of your smartphone screen when you are a T-Mobile 5G consumer.

However, if you don’t see a UC sign there, you might be connected to their 5g Extended Range network, similar to 4G.

Conversely, 5G UW means 5G Ultra Wideband, Verizon’s high-band and mid-band network offerings. The coverage of 5G UW is still limited, so you may have a hard time finding it except in some cities. You will see the UW sign next to the 5G icon on your smartphone screen if you’re connected to it.

The low-band network of the company is called Verizon Nationwide, but it isn’t much faster than 4G. You won’t see the UW sign when you are connected to it. You will only see 5G.

What Is 5G Plus And 5G E?

Like T-Mobile and Verizon, AT&T has also organized its 5G network among high-band and mid-band. They call it 5G Plus. However, it doesn’t have much coverage compared to 5G UC and UC. You will only find it at some airports, stadiums, and other venues in the United States.

When connected to AT&T’s 5G Plus, you will see the 5G+ icon next to the network bars on your smartphone screen’s top left or right. However, if you don’t see a Plus sign next to 5G, you’re likely connected to the low-band 5G network, which isn’t a big upgrade from LTE.

Meanwhile, 5G E stands for 5G Evolution, and it’s also an offering by AT&T. However, it’s a misleading term that’ll make you believe you are connected to a 5G network when you are not. 5G E is used for AT&T’s 4G LTE service. You are connected to a 4G network if you see it on your device.

How Are These Different From Regular 5G?

5G is the general term for the fifth generation of the global wireless standard, while UC, UW, and are fancy terms used for different tiers of 5G bands that network carriers use. The 5G network has various bands with differing capabilities and performances. Carrier companies provide access to different types of 5G bands.

They have named the bands they provide to let the users know what type of 5G network they can access. For instance, T-Mobile’s 5G UC and Verizon’s 5G UW are both high-band to low-band networks and not different. However, users may believe that one is better than the other due to different icons.

5G is the term used for the network, while 5G UC, UW, and are terminologies network carriers use to differentiate among 5G bands. The low-band has a widespread signal reach, but the speeds aren’t much faster than 4G LTE. Meanwhile, high-band provides extremely fast speed but a very short signal range. However, the mid-band provides a balanced result of good signal reach and speed.

So, they roughly mean the same thing and are not any different than the regular 5G network. The signals you’ll receive on your device will depend on the region where you are. However, a casual user won’t experience significant differences between 5G UC and UW.

5G UC Vs 5G UW Vs 5G+ Vs 5G E: Which Is Better?

5G UC, 5G UW, and 5G Plus are different mid-band to high-band 5G networks offered by T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, respectively. They are all the better than 5G E as 5G E (Evolution) isn’t 5G, but 4G LTE offered by AT&T. An ad board even sent the company to remove it due to its misleading nature, but they didn’t.

Verizon offers 5G Ultra Wideband, the high-band “mmWave” (millimetre wave) and mid-band 5G. T-Mobile and AT&T also have a similar kind of network. They are all better and will appear in the network bar section of your smartphone screen to signify what sort of 5G network you are connected to.

If you don’t see the UC sign next to 5G while using T-Mobile, then you’re likely connected to their low band of the fifth-generation network, which is called 5G XR (Extended Range). Similarly, Verizon provides the low-band network as “5G Nationwide” while AT&T removes the Plus (+) sign for the low band. AT&T’s 5G (without +) is still faster than their 5G E.

Which Carrier Has The Best 5G Network?

Several 5G providers in the United States include Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, UScellular, and MVNOs. Different carriers have different types of plans and provide access to differing 5G network bands. They use their terminologies to categorize their 5G networks, such as UC, UW, Plus, and XR.

T-Mobile is the leading 5G network carrier in the U.S. The carrier has earned the top rankings for fastest speeds, most consistent coverage, lowest latency, and maximum availability in the latest report by Ookla®. It has provided better download and upload speeds than Verizon and AT&T.

Overall, it’s leading the 5G network provider in the U.S. However, the best 5G network depends on your area. If you can access Verizon’s 5G UW or AT&T’s 5G Plus, you don’t have to rely on T-Mobile’s 5G UC. The performance you’ll get on these networks will be fairly similar.

If you use low-band 5G networks such as T-Mobile’s 5G XR (Extended Range) or Verizon’s 5G Nationwide, you can try upgrading to the mid-band and high-band options shared above. This way, you’ll see a significant jump in data transfer speed and network performance.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Final Take:

5G is now readily available worldwide as the latest generation of smartphone network technology. Different brands are delivering it after coating their marketing shenanigans. Sometimes, these end up confusing users. However, if you want to understand 5G better, you can learn about it.

You don’t have to know about different terminologies such as UC and UW. But, if you are opting for a network provider for yourself, you must find out what these mean and offer. That’s it for this guide. Please ask in the comments if you have more queries or concerns about 5G.