Verizon Launches $75 mmWave 5G Plan for Prepaid Customers

[turbineseaplane]

I'm prepared for the "downvote & disagree" routine, but I have to be honest..

At this time, I find 5G to be an overhyped nothing burger to try to move sales of new devices (not just Apple).

 

[bousozoku]

This map is incredibly deceptive; the band they’re touting is the kind of thing that only fills a sports arena or a downtown shopping district.

The size of the pins (and the halo around the pins!) would have you believe Verizon is blanketing the entire city of Chicago in mmwave.

Their claims for LTE and then, LTE Advanced were just as ridiculous. It took years for them to achieve real usefulness.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

We are talking cellular service.

Unlimited data does not necessarily mean unlimited speed with the cellular carriers. Thy even talk about that in the TOS. Too many people here equate unlimited data as being unlimited speed. And that is wrong.

Yes, hence my original complaint. It would be nice for the industry to use consumer friendly terms that don't mislead or make people have to go digging into a TOS.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yes, hence my original complaint. It would be nice for the industry to use consumer friendly terms that don't mislead or make people have to go digging into a TOS.

We are in agreement.

 

[jjudson]

Verizon needs to show on the map which individual street corner(s) have mmWave.

The Verge sums it up the best: Bear in mind also that the signal doesn’t penetrate walls, so don’t expect to pick it up in your living room.

And therein is the rub...

Think for a moment how crappy your 5 GHz wireless is around your house, particularly upstairs and from one end to the other. High frequencies have difficulty with penetration and even bounce. The 5G LTE bandwidth is many times higher than 5 GHz, ranging from 28-39 GHz. This is why many more towers need to be installed to cover the area, as any obstacle or foliage can cut down on the signal. Getting into your house is most problematic of all.

People are going to need to be realistic in their expectations of this technology. They will be surprised after all the hype of its efficacy.

 

[msp3]

Why do carriers always attempt to charge a premium for new-gen network access every time something new comes out? Remember 3G, 4G (fake 4G that's really HSPA from dishonest carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T of 5Ge fame), and LTE access charges? Unless they have empirical evidence for people willing to pay for a better variety of network access in less places, I really don't see the point.

When new network technologies are introduced, they are in too few places and deployed far too sparsely to provide a good or consistent experience, so the "product" is little better than the old network. When the new technology matures, it's everywhere and experience improves but every other carrier now have it and it becomes a normal product that cannot command a price premium anymore. So who is paying a higher price for something before it becomes good? Suckers?

 

[ZipZilla]

facts:
mmwave spectrum is a total bust for wireless and won't see nationwide deployment anyway. maybe neighborhoods in high-income zipcodes could use it in their houses. it's like Directv/Dish. a downpour, a pregnant insect landing on it. poof it sucks.

there is no use case for wireless cell phones beyond maxed out LTE.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

T-Mobile bought up most of the US Television frequencies that were part of the TV REPACK for wireless sale, so I think, with buying Sprint, they are better positioned for 5G than even VERIZON. VERIZON screwed up both FIOS and now 5G rollouts in my opinion and still get away with charging the most amount of money. I expect that to change and people get wise.

 

[redcaptrickster]

What does "Unlimited" mean in this context? This question still needs to be asked every time the word is used.

As a Verizon customer, I can tell you that unlimited is and is not unlimited. When you reach a certain bandwidth cap, they significantly slow down your Internet speed. Technically it's unlimited, but in practical terms, it might as well be capped because it's useless once you've hit the slowdown point.

 

[827538]

Or y'know, pay Mint $20 a month for 10GB of usable LTE/5G. The prices these big three charge are unreal. mmWave is meaningless.

I pay $40 for two 10GB lines for my wife and I in the US and $46 for two 120GB lines in Europe (we split our time pre-Covid). That's four 5G lines for $86 a month, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of paying $75 for a single line.

 

[827538]

T-Mobile bought up most of the US Television frequencies that were part of the TV REPACK for wireless sale, so I think, with buying Sprint, they are better positioned for 5G than even VERIZON. VERIZON screwed up both FIOS and now 5G rollouts in my opinion and still get away with charging the most amount of money. I expect that to change and people get wise.

Yup T-Mobile has a really good low band and mid band frequency allotment and are deploying it fast.

 

[827538]

US plans are expensive because our government maximizes the amount of money they get by having auctions and getting telcos to outbid each other. It makes it so the telcos have to pay a ton of money before they can even turn on the first service and the only way to make the money back is to make the customer pay. $4.7Billion for 5G: https://venturebeat.com/2020/03/12/...uction-nets-4-47-billion-for-5g-mmwave-bands/

The UK via OFCOM auctions spectrum too (for billions) and you can get actually unlimited 5G plans for less than £20.

 

[hagjohn]

I'm prepared for the "downvote & disagree" routine, but I have to be honest..

At this time, I find 5G to be an overhyped nothing burger to try to move sales of new devices (not just Apple).

We have 2 towers here in my little town of around 10,000 people. A 5G and a 4G. Luckily my house is in the 5G area (AT&T). With 4G in my house, I would get 2 bars and had to use Wifi-Calling in order not to have static. With 5G, I still have 2 bars but my calls are crystal clear. My AT&T work phone is 4G still, so I have to use Wifi-Calling on it.

I live an hour from my work (Mid-Atlantic region) and had to go there a few weeks ago (teleworking most of the time). Mixture of farm/country and small towns. I was surprised by how many areas had 5G already. You might be surprised.

 

[zubikov]

The jump from LTE->mmWave 5G is nothing like 3G->LTE.

When we got LTE, pictures became videos. Syncing music became streaming music. Our wireless devices went unchained from their desktop/laptop counterparts. It was awesome and we couldn't go back.

With 5G your insta feed will load in .5 seconds instead of .75 seconds. Who gives a ****? Meanwhile, Verizon still lacks adequate LTE coverage in many of North Jersey towns just miles away from its very own headquarters. Marketing <> ground truth. 5G may have implications for self driving cars and drones, but it will be a nothingburger for everyday folks just trying to use their phone and go about their business.

 

[Makosuke]

Yup T-Mobile has a really good low band and mid band frequency allotment and are deploying it fast.

I was genuinely impressed that when my T-Mobile 12 showed up on launch day, even though I live in a small town in a rural part of California, I immediately was getting 5G, and the speeds were (at least versus the last time I checked a few months earlier) maybe 3-4 times faster (100-200Mbit). It's also more reliable than my wifi cable connection (which seems to be a combination of erratic Suddenlink service and crappy Suddenlink router), so half the time if I'm on a 3-hour Zoom meeting for work I end up switching to cell because my damn wifi keeps dropping out.

After all, even 30Mbit is enough to do just about anything I want to on my phone without it being an issue, so ultra-speed connection if I'm standing on the sidewalk in downtown San Francisco is absolutely worthless. The only benefit I'm aware of with mmWave is that it can handle extremely dense crowds at a stadium or something, which is an incredibly narrow use case.

Verizon does actually have better middle-of-nowhere coverage out in the woods here, but it's slow. so I'll take T-Mobile since I'm far more likely to be on the phone in town than walking in the forest.

 

[dannyyankou]

Very pricy for a prepaid plan, just get the basic unlimited plan. If you don’t live in a big city, you don’t need mmWave.

 

[SuperMatt]

I’ve always found Verizon to be overpriced, all based on the perception that they have the best network coverage. I‘ve found it to be more perception than reality. There was a time (almost 2 decades ago...?) when Verizon had an advantage in network coverage, but in 2021, you are paying extra for nothing. That being said, different regions have different coverage situations, so sometimes there is only one carrier that gets good coverage where one lives. In those cases, you have to go with whoever covers your neighborhood, which could sometimes be Verizon.

 

[827538]

I was genuinely impressed that when my T-Mobile 12 showed up on launch day, even though I live in a small town in a rural part of California, I immediately was getting 5G, and the speeds were (at least versus the last time I checked a few months earlier) maybe 3-4 times faster (100-200Mbit). It's also more reliable than my wifi cable connection (which seems to be a combination of erratic Suddenlink service and crappy Suddenlink router), so half the time if I'm on a 3-hour Zoom meeting for work I end up switching to cell because my damn wifi keeps dropping out.

After all, even 30Mbit is enough to do just about anything I want to on my phone without it being an issue, so ultra-speed connection if I'm standing on the sidewalk in downtown San Francisco is absolutely worthless. The only benefit I'm aware of with mmWave is that it can handle extremely dense crowds at a stadium or something, which is an incredibly narrow use case.

Verizon does actually have better middle-of-nowhere coverage out in the woods here, but it's slow. so I'll take T-Mobile since I'm far more likely to be on the phone in town than walking in the forest.

I wish they'd ditch mmWave as it's expensive and offers virtually no benefit and instead pour that money into excellent coverage at decent speeds. I'd take 30-50Mb across the whole US over 1GB+ in some select areas.

Like you said, once you hit that 30Mb you can effectively do anything. Doesn't Netflix only require 25Mb for their 4k streams?

The LTE band 71 and n71 are rapidly improving T-Mobile in rural areas, I hope it conintues. mmWave means nothing to me.

 

[ikramerica]

facts:
mmwave spectrum is a total bust for wireless and won't see nationwide deployment anyway. maybe neighborhoods in high-income zipcodes could use it in their houses. it's like Directv/Dish. a downpour, a pregnant insect landing on it. poof it sucks.

there is no use case for wireless cell phones beyond maxed out LTE.

I have had Dish for 24 years. The occasional whether interruption is worth it when you also get an incredible DVR with the ability to skip forward and skip commercials that all the fremium streaming fans give up.

It frustrates me to no end when I choose an on demand rerun from a network and they force commercials on us and disable skip and fast forward on the DVR. Especially when you have kids and commercials during family programs have become so inappropriate for young children.

 

[4jasontv]

We are talking cellular service.

Unlimited data does not necessarily mean unlimited speed with the cellular carriers. Thy even talk about that in the TOS. Too many people here equate unlimited data as being unlimited speed. And that is wrong.

Only, it doesn't say unlimited data. It says "unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband" and that indicates a speed. Which is directly at odds with these two statements: "DVD-quality streaming (up to 480p) on smartphones. In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic." That's neither unlimited data nor unlimited 5G. The TOS contradict itself and I am sure that somewhere in the US the law dictates that the better option for the customer is what they are bound by.

 

[UnusedLoginID]

Only, it doesn't say unlimited data. It says "unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband" and that indicates a speed.

No, it indicates a technology. They can still throttle the speed.
Anyway paying extra for mmWave is a scam because you’ll pretty much never be on mmWave and when you are, you won’t be watching 4K movies on your tiny phone screen anyway. This is total Marketing BS!

 

[Reason077]

US plans are expensive. I get 80G for £15 and can get unlimited for £25.

Yep. I pay £30 per month (USD $41) for no-contract (pay monthly, cancel anytime) 5G on a top-tier network.

Unlike US plans, there are no additional hidden fees, surcharges, or taxes. Data is fast (up to 300 Mbps) and truly unlimited. Some months during lockdown I’ve used well over 1 TB!

 

[Makosuke]

Yep. I pay £30 per month (USD $41) for no-contract (pay monthly, cancel anytime) 5G on a top-tier network.

Unlike US plans, there are no additional hidden fees, surcharges, or taxes. Data is fast (up to 300 Mbps) and truly unlimited. Some months during lockdown I’ve used well over 1 TB!

It's quite relative depending on which US carrier and plan you've got.

With two people and no contract restrictions, I pay US$30 per month per line--exactly, with no additional taxes or fees--for a solid national 5G network (currently at home in a rural area, I'm getting 106Mbit down and 25 up), unlimited data (potentially throttled if the network is congested if I use more than 50GB/month), 3GB of high-speed tethered data (after which unlimited tethered data at reduced 3G speeds), and free slow-speed data roaming in most countries around the world.

(That international roaming benefit pays for itself every time we travel to Japan--a pay-as-you-go SIM for a week costs more than my entire month's bill.)

So it seems pretty relative to me. If I had the option of switching my plan for yours, at least with how I use my phone, I'd be paying a third more for nothing I'd benefit from unless there's some major additional feature you didn't mention.

An aside, how the heck do you use 1TB of data on a phone? With two computers, heavy work use, and hours of high-def streaming video a day on a bigscreen, we've never even hit that on our wired internet plan. I use my cell plan for an average of at least a couple hours a day of multiparty video conferencing, and I'm under 10GB for January.

 

[iAFC]

Verizon needs to show on the map which individual street corner(s) have mmWave.

The Verge sums it up the best: Bear in mind also that the signal doesn’t penetrate walls, so don’t expect to pick it up in your living room.

This map is incredibly deceptive; the band they’re touting is the kind of thing that only fills a sports arena or a downtown shopping district.

The size of the pins (and the halo around the pins!) would have you believe Verizon is blanketing the entire city of Chicago in mmwave.

They actually do show the individual streets where mmWave is available:

 

[Reason077]

An aside, how the heck do you use 1TB of data on a phone? With two computers, heavy work use, and hours of high-def streaming video a day on a bigscreen, we've never even hit that on our wired internet plan. I use my cell plan for an average of at least a couple hours a day of multiparty video conferencing, and I'm under 10GB for January.

It's not just my phone 😉

I put the SIM into a 5G WiFi router (Huawei E6878-870), which all my home devices run through. It's replaced my home broadband - cheaper, faster, more reliable, and it's portable. (Much faster than DSL at least - unfortunately no gigabit fibre available in my building!)

During the highest usage months I was doing a lot of game streaming on Google Stadia, which really eats data. But I've now cancelled it due to them dropping support for PUBG in mouse & keyboard mode. Just checked and I'm "only" at 305 GB so far for January.