Verizon's $50 5G Home Internet Service Launching October 1 With No Data Caps

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Their no cap is BS. What lies!

But isn't their "unlimited*" cellular offering really "unlimited*"? How could this possibly be negative?

When Verizon speaks, it's always exactly what they say, and always so very, very positive & beneficial to Verizon customers. Sure, there's always one or two naysayers who might go as far to use words like crooks to describe them but, for the most part, isn't every Verizon customer just completely thrilled how up front & clear they are about their fees... and how they seem to bend over backwards- even cutting their own throats somewhat- to put the customer first about all else?

I for one, expect this to be uncapped at full speed for exactly $50 per month. Why? Because Verizon says so... and I know from years and years of Verizon shenanigans, I mean, operations that what they say and how their polished spin, I mean, legit messages are perceived by a naive, I mean, informed public is exactly what they are offering.

All

 

[Statusnone88]

AT&T already has the 5G equipment in 140+ markets. They just need to flip the switch.

You can bet if Verizon is doing this, AT&T will soon follow.

 

[B4U]

No limit caps? Really?
Just got a single PS4 game update totaled at 33GB.
They will not last for long with usages like this.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Since they couldn't get their own IP TV system off the ground, they are bundling a trial of services from YouTube? Bizarre.

 

[riverfreak]

So is this a fixed wireless solution? If so, hopefully they’ll be able to roll it out to existing installations. Will be a big boon to rural areas that have to rely on fixed wireless, or worse, satellite, or even worse: nothing.

 

[ThatGuyInLa]

Again, moot for anyone living along the Verdugo mountains East of the 5 and 134 in Burbank and Glendale. Two bars max.

 

[gaximus]

NO CONTRACT sounds delicious but really means they can change the price and caps anytime they want!

Yes but also means customers can easily leave if they do change things. So if they want to keep customers it’s better for them not to change.

 

[SeattleMoose]

No 5G in my home!!! Sticking with hardwired Comcast.

 

[Crow_Servo]

This is great news. I’ll check if I’m eligible on Thursday. If I am, I’ll call Spectrum and tell them I’m canceling. Best case scenario, they lower my bill. Otherwise, I actually cancel and switch to this new service.

 

[Sefstah]

No data cap*
*except when you use all of your “unlimited” data.
Charges and fees may apply.

 

[gijoeinla]

Um what’s the upload speeds??

 

[zuiram]

How does more speed help me? Serious question

Everything works fine right now...

That serious question was asked back in the day when we just got ISDN-like speeds on cellular, cuz everything worked just fine, and the yuppies could get that, as if regular 9600bps wasn’t good enough.

Try going back for a week, and you’ll have your answer.

Improvements frequently don’t wow us when we get them, e.g. SSDs, but you can tell we hit the bullseye when going back is unimaginable. 5G will probably be such an improvement.

 

[mateytate]

How does more speed help me? Serious question

Everything works fine right now...

I remember saying the same thing when I upgraded from a 33.3k to 56k modem....

 

[sd70mac]

How does more speed help me? Serious question

Everything works fine right now...

Greater bandwidth per user actually can reduce congestion, because it reduces the time it takes for a file to transfer. The main reason this doesn’t always work is because some transfers are rate-limited by the hardware on the ends, and because file sizes do keep growing for audio and especially video. For places that already have very high bandwidth home connections, it means that ISPs can focus almost all of their investments on interconnections and data centers instead of having to pour massive amounts of money into upgrading Customer Premises Equipment and/or shortening distances on copper wiring every 3-5 years. That’s not to say that they spend nothing on CPE upgrades, just substantially less, since they don’t need to do so as frequently. There are advantages to being ahead of the curve. =)

 

[zuiram]

I remember saying the same thing when I upgraded from a 33.3k to 56k modem....

Straight from 28.8Kbps to (2x)64Kbps here, then a small bump to ADSL, and finally 100M fiber. It’s amazing to think I’m spending more CPU/GPU on every time I check my notifications than the total cycles I spent on my adolescence, and groaning when I force touch the OSK too fast so it thinks it’s a regular touch. Can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up able to take that for granted.

 

[sd70mac]

#41 was my attempt at levity. Here's a more serious question: if it's $50 for really unlimited 5G, and 5G brings all these benefits over 4G and less, isn't all WHOLE HOUSEHOLD phone usage about to switch to this plan too (VOIP apps for calls/texts, this for data)? In other words, if this is bona-fide real, why have cell plans anymore, including family plans? Free VOIP apps sharing ONE $50 plan for all of the family member's phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc.

Can you imagine the fine print limitations to preserve the "as is"?

This is for a non-portable device (think OnHub, not MiFi), which only works where 5G is deployed so that will not cover out and about, unless Verizon bundles access to CableWiFi hotspots, which is still a poor solution. (My phone picks up and drops those hotspots frequently, with poor Wi-Fi throughput on the home-based ones and intermittent connectivity in many cases. This is why I use Speedify to leverage both the hotspots and my ‘unlimited’ cellular wireless data plan.)

 

[Miminbam]

This just internet service, not TV.

It's not better than FIOS.

Many companies are going to go with 5G because it means they can give you access, without the need for the very costly infrastructure normal home internet requires. Companies like Comcast spend billions each year to maintain their network of wiring and cables that stretch down every street and to each and ever home. There are HUGE costs involved in that and they're passed on the to the customer (as every cost is at every business).

With 5G, we finally have a wireless that's a contender to replace home internet service. Until this point, 4G was just too slow and couldn't support multiple devices the way Comcast, Time Warner, etc could with wired home service. 5G has the ability to support the multiple devices (computers, TVs, IoT devices, smartphones, tablets, and more) that now make up the average home.

But there are still some issues. While 5G is better, it still doesn't have the low latency that gamers need. And while 300Mbit to potentially 1Gbit is possible with this Verizon offering, that's still going to fall short with companies like Comcast offering 1Gbit service now (and as has always been the case, the base speed continues to rise so in a few years 1Gbit will be far less than it costs now from them). Additionally, think of how many have issues getting decent wireless service in their home. That's not generally the case with traditional wired home service.

Slightly unrelated but I switched (after being with direct for 12 years and att when they took over) from AT&T to xfinity due to inconsistency in bill amounts and service issues. I thought I would get better internet service but it took a month to get the cable fixed at the street. they finally connected it but put in several (4) splitters from my line so it's SLOOOOOW i called the guy I bought my Fire Sticks from and had him come out to see if he could figure out why I was having such bad service. He showed the results of his speed test and it was pure ridiculousness. Almost 3 weeks ago, xfinity came to see what we need and said he will send someone to replace it bc it's a diffrent type of issue.
I'm sorry if that is if tmi but I really appreciate any advice. Is there a particular set up that works well with Comcast for you guys? honestly I just want to watch TV and maybe laugh at some baby cat monkey videos without buffering all night long tysvm!

 

[riverfreak]

I remember saying the same thing when I upgraded from a 33.3k to 56k modem....

Lol. Kids. I started with a 300 baud modem, with an acoustic coupler. I wasted half my life waiting for bits to trickle in from the kid across the street. I could have walked the data over faster.

 

[Vlad.E.]

Is this just internet or does it include TV? Why is this better than FIOS?

It’s expensive to run FIOS cables and time consuming. This can be used by people that can’t get fios but don’t want Comcast.

 

[riverfreak]

It’s expensive to run FIOS cables and time consuming. This can be used by people that can’t get fios but don’t want Comcast.

Something like 40% of Americans have no choice in their broadband provider. 4 million have no access at all; 10 million households have no access to wired internet; fully 56 million have no access to a connection of any type over 25 Mbps (the FCC broadband standard). Hopefully, 5G will finally let the US join the rest of the technical world in terms of affordable internet access.

 

[EdT]

No data caps EVER**

** ever is defined as ‘until enough people sign up and we can gouge them by changing terms.’

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Slightly unrelated but I switched (after being with direct for 12 years and att when they took over) from AT&T to xfinity due to inconsistency in bill amounts and service issues. I thought I would get better internet service but it took a month to get the cable fixed at the street. they finally connected it but put in several (4) splitters from my line so it's SLOOOOOW i called the guy I bought my Fire Sticks from and had him come out to see if he could figure out why I was having such bad service. He showed the results of his speed test and it was pure ridiculousness. Almost 3 weeks ago, xfinity came to see what we need and said he will send someone to replace it bc it's a diffrent type of issue.
I'm sorry if that is if tmi but I really appreciate any advice. Is there a particular set up that works well with Comcast for you guys? honestly I just want to watch TV and maybe laugh at some baby cat monkey videos without buffering all night long tysvm!

In the cable world, we don't want splitters. Every time you put one in, you drop the signal levels. Now this may be fine if the levels are good to begin with (you don't want levels too high either as there's a range that the cable modem will work within) but they're not ideal.

The plant (cable network) is designed with these ideal levels in mind when building out to your house. If they aren't getting the right levels coming in, then there's an issue with design or somewhere else along the line that needs to be resolved.

Make sure you don't have an amplifier. They cause nothing but problems and again are a bandaid for a bigger problem that needs to be resolved.

My advice for the time being is to remove any splitters you don't need. If you have things split 4 times but only need 2 spots (cable modem and TV box) then remove any unused. This will help prevent the loss of signal.

Make sure to use only cable company provided splitters. The ones you get from Amazon often block the return signal (the way your cable modem is able to upload) and cause other issues. The ones from your cable company also have specific values in their signal drop. Ones from other sources are less consistent with this and may cause additional issues here.

At the end of the day, the cable company needs to resolve the issues. They should be checking to make sure the drop to your house is good (the cable from the pole to the home) and that there aren't any mainline issues (the part of the system that brings the signal into the neighborhood). They should be replacing any splitters to be sure there aren't any issues with the current ones and making sure the levels to the modem are optimal.

It sucks but I'd keep pushing them on it. Ask for a higher level tech (senior tech, level 3-4 tech, they've all got different names for them) to come out and let them know you've had multiple issues. If you really have to you can push that you'll be making a complaint to the city, as they're generally required to provide a certain level of service, but I'd really caution this as a very last step. You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar and the customer services reps (like all of us) don't take well to threats. At the end of the day that rep has little to no skin in the game so they don't care about your threat. You're far better off being very very nice to them if you hope to get taken care of.

Best of luck. Hope they get it resolved for you soon.

 

[Michael Scrip]

In the cable world, we don't want splitters. Every time you put one in, you drop the signal levels. Now this may be fine if the levels are good to begin with (you don't want levels too high either as there's a range that the cable modem will work within) but they're not ideal.

The plant (cable network) is designed with these ideal levels in mind when building out to your house. If they aren't getting the right levels coming in, then there's an issue with design or somewhere else along the line that needs to be resolved.

Make sure you don't have an amplifier. They cause nothing but problems and again are a bandaid for a bigger problem that needs to be resolved.

My advice for the time being is to remove any splitters you don't need. If you have things split 4 times but only need 2 spots (cable modem and TV box) then remove any unused. This will help prevent the loss of signal.

Make sure to use only cable company provided splitters. The ones you get from Amazon often block the return signal (the way your cable modem is able to upload) and cause other issues. The ones from your cable company also have specific values in their signal drop. Ones from other sources are less consistent with this and may cause additional issues here.

At the end of the day, the cable company needs to resolve the issues. They should be checking to make sure the drop to your house is good (the cable from the pole to the home) and that there aren't any mainline issues (the part of the system that brings the signal into the neighborhood). They should be replacing any splitters to be sure there aren't any issues with the current ones and making sure the levels to the modem are optimal.

It sucks but I'd keep pushing them on it. Ask for a higher level tech (senior tech, level 3-4 tech, they've all got different names for them) to come out and let them know you've had multiple issues. If you really have to you can push that you'll be making a complaint to the city, as they're generally required to provide a certain level of service, but I'd really caution this as a very last step. You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar and the customer services reps (like all of us) don't take well to threats. At the end of the day that rep has little to no skin in the game so they don't care about your threat. You're far better off being very very nice to them if you hope to get taken care of.

Best of luck. Hope they get it resolved for you soon.

Great post!

 

[cfurlin]

Caps or no caps, it has to be better than the Comcast 250Mb/s I have where on most days I can only get 30Mb/s tops.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Caps or no caps, it has to be better than the Comcast 250Mb/s I have where on most days I can only get 30Mb/s tops.

There's something going on if you're only seeing 30Mbit. The cable system should have no issue giving you 250Mbit all day every day. Time to make a support call.