Verizon’s 5G plans may have caused some turmoil with the Federal Aviation Administration this week, but that hasn’t stopped the carrier entirely. On Tuesday, the country’s largest wireless provider unveiled its updated 5G plan, which includes revised plans for wireless and home Internet users, and revealed that 100 million people in more than 1,700 cities will get faster connections this month. intended to cover with.
Verizon had previously planned to cover 100 million people by March with a set of radio airwaves called C-band, which puts the carrier ahead of its previously stated goals. Verizon spent more than $50 billion last year to acquire valuable wireless airwaves in the hopes it would give its 5G network a significant boost in performance.
The largest metro areas in several countries, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Miami, will be in Verizon’s initial C-Band rollout.
Although Verizon has had 5G in some form since 2018, its fastest millimeter-wave connections (called ultra wideband) are largely limited to select cities or a few blocks of airports, arenas or stadiums. Is. Its more widespread low-band 5G network (which it referred to as “5G nationwide”) often provides performance similar to a 4G LTE connection.
C-Band offers an opportunity to boost both 5G speed and coverage for customers who have been overwhelmed by the service for the past two years. This is known as midband and is a good mix of the other two frequencies: significantly faster performance than low-band but with better coverage than millimeter-wave. Verizon says that when its new C-band network (which will also come under the name Ultra Wideband) goes live later this month it will be capable of download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
Those who want to get a faster connection will still need a compatible 5G phone and be on one of the carrier’s unlimited unlimited plans. This includes the currently available Play More, Do More or Get More options as well as the old Above or Beyond Unlimited options.
At launch, compatible devices will include Apple’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lines and Samsung’s Galaxy S21 line, the Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3, as well as 5G iPads. Verizon has previously said that other devices like Google’s Pixel 5 and Pixel 6 will receive software updates for C-band 5G, but it hasn’t yet provided a timeline for when they might roll out.
If you’re on other Verizon plans, such as its Start Unlimited offering, you won’t be able to tap into a faster 5G network even if you have a compatible device.
Updated plans for wireless and home Internet users
In addition to rolling out the new network, Verizon is also rolling out some of those wireless plans on January 5th, though it’s not changing its pricing.
Hotspot data is being tossed across the board, with Play More and Do More now offering 25GB of high-speed data (above 15GB) and Get More plans now including 50GB of high-speed data (above 30GB).
Play More and Get More plans will now include Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass (Verizon previously offered either service for a year), while those with business-focused Do More or Get More now also get one day per day. Free roaming will be available. When traveling internationally in one of over 185 countries (Verizon normally charges $10 per day).
After top plans like T-Mobile’s Magenta Max and AT&T’s Unlimited Elite, Get More will no longer have a data cap on how much high-speed data you can use in a month from your phone.
Verizon says that “later this month” it will automatically add new perks and increase hotspots for existing Do More, Play More and Get More users. If you are already on one of those plans then your bill will not change and you will not need to make any manual adjustments to your plan.
Perhaps the most notable plan improvement will happen if you also live in an area where Verizon’s 5G home internet is available. Combining 5G Home with one of three unlimited plans will reduce the cost of home broadband by 50%.
If you have automatic payment, the carrier charges $50 for its 5G home broadband product, which includes taxes, fees, and equipment fees in the price (that’s $60 per month without autopay). Combined, you can in theory get home internet for $25 per month with no data cap.
Verizon says the “typical” download speed for home broadband service is 300 Mbps, with a peak of 1 gigabit per second.
The $50 per month plan also comes with a two-year price guarantee, a free month of service, Google Nest Mini and Verizon’s Stream TV connected box for using apps on your television. A $70 per month option (with Autopay), called 5G Home Plus, locks in three years’ worth of those perks, unlimited cloud backup to Verizon Cloud, a one-year subscription to Disney Plus and AMC Plus, and swap out is included. Nest Mini for Google’s Nest Hub Max.