Verizon 5G Home Internet Service Live 10/1, No Data Cap, 1Gbps In These Cities
Now before you start jumping up and down in excitement and start hunting for 5G smartphones, we should caution that this is not a mobile 5G service. Instead, as we've previously stated, Verizon 5G Home is strictly for residential internet connectivity. In addition, the initial rollout will be extremely limited, and will encompass just four major U.S. cities: Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Existing Verizon Wireless customers with a "qualifying smartphone plan" that live in one of these markets will be able to sign up for Verizon 5G Home at a cost of $50 per month starting September 13th at 8am EST by visiting FirstOn5G.com. If you are not currently a Verizon Wireless customer, your monthly outlay increases to $70 per month. According to Verizon, both of these totals includes all taxes and fees, and do not require an annual contract.
As an added bonus for signing up for Verizon 5G Home, you will be given three months of YouTube TV for free along with your choice of either an Apple TV 4K or a Google Chromecast Ultra -- also free. Given that the Chromecast Ultra retails for $69, while the 32GB Apple TV 4K retails for $179, we'd probably go with the latter (you could always sell it after the fact).
With pricing out of the way, the next big thing that everyone wants to know is how fast will this new service be? Well, according to Verizon, customers will see "typical network speeds" of 300Mbps to 1Gbps. And best of all, there will be no data caps… for now.
"First On 5G" customers will get free professional installation and a free router along with the first crack at scoring 5G-capable Verizon smartphones as they become available. You will also have access to a dedicated 5G service team should you need support.
“We spent the last three years driving the industry to bring 5G to consumers as soon as possible,” said Ronan Dunne, head of Verizon’s wireless business. “We developed early standards that allowed the industry and hardware and software manufacturers to build solutions more quickly. As a result of this initiative and ongoing collaboration, we will rapidly deliver the promise of 5G to our customers.”
Despite Verizon calling its new service 5G, it's technically using technology that is not standardized. So, while you'll be seeing higher speeds than you'd typically see with a run-of-the-mill 4G LTE connection, Verizon's "True 5G" service will arrive at a later date as it expands into additional U.S. markets.
