5G is the next big thing in the tech market right now, and its network has lots of advantages over the 4G network. Just like it was with 4G, 5G is also already over-speculated. Among all the other service providers, Verizon is the first to come with 5G plans along with their 5G connectivity launch date of 11 April. It is just the beginning, so just a couple of states of the US will be the first ones to enjoy the privileges of 5G connectivity. Even though 5G phones are not yet available completely on the markets but only exclusively, so the initial days won’t really tell us what 5G has on offer for us. So here we are going to take a look at what Verizon has offered for us, the pricing of the plans, the supported phones and so on.
Verizon 5G Rollout Details
Verizon is now concentrating providing this new service to only four places of the US namely Illinois, Minnesota, Minneapolis and Chicago. Even in these cities, the network is planned to be served only to certain specific locations. The plan by Verizon is to serve 5G connectivity to at least 30 additional cities of the US by the end of the year 2019.
Photo Credit: Verizon Communications Inc.
Compared to other services the number is admittedly pretty low. When TMobile is planning three cities and Sprint is aiming nine, AT&T has already launched 5G mobile and hotspots in 12 major cities of US. However, AT&T is only planned to launch a 5G-compatible smartphone later in the year 2019.
Update 3rd April 2019: Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network is now turned on in select areas of Minneapolis and Chicago. Now all the customers can access a 5G network with the Moto Z3 smartphone that comes with 5G moto mod. The customers can enjoy speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Verizon 5G Data Plans
For 10 USD on top of an existing unlimited Verizon plan, users can enjoy unlimited access to 5G services. For the first three months it will even be a free service, but post that the new pricing from Verizon is as follows, LifeHacker reported.
Go Unlimited Plan ($85 per month)
This Includes unlimited 5G and LTE data, but mobile and hotspot 4G/LTE data are subjected to throttling.
Beyond Unlimited plan ($95 per month)
This plan will provide unlimited 5G and 4G/LTE data, but 4G/LTE data is subjected to throttling post 22GB of mobile data and 15GB of hotspot data.
Above Unlimited plan ($105 per month)
This plan will provide unlimited 5G and 4G/LTE data, but 4G/LTE data is subjected to throttling post 75GB of mobile data and 20GB of hotspot data.
5G Network Supported Phones
Just a week ago the 5G Moto mod was launched as an accessory for the Moto Z3. This mod is available for pre-order in the US, but soon it will be available for retail from 11th April with a price tag of 349.99 USD. With this mod and Moto Z3 together, a user can access the 5G services of Verizon in the mentioned cities.
LG V50 Thinq and Samsung Galaxy S10 5G are the other two devices that have been showcased in the MWC 2019 with 5G compatibility. These two phones have not yet reached to the public, but they will be launched soon. Expected time of launch for these two devices with 5G compatibility is Q2 of 2019. There are also rumours about the next Oneplus flagship, soon to be launched in the Q2 of 2019, to be a 5G compatible smartphone.
