Verizon 5G Home Internet expands to cover more cable-cutters

By Chris Davies/Oct. 7, 2021 10:30 am EST

Verizon's 5G Home Internet service is expanding, with the carrier lighting up several new locations where its high-speed wireless cable and DSL replacement is available. The system relies on the same mmWave 5G as Verizon's fastest 5G phones use, only baked into a WiFi router for home use.

It's proved to be popular among cord cutters who don't want to sacrifice cable-esque speeds. Maximum download rates hit up to 1 Gbps, Verizon says, though typical sustained rates are more like 300 Mbps.

The primary downside has always been availability. Although 5G networks broadly speaking are available in many places around the US, mmWave 5G specifically has been far slower to expand. Now, Verizon says, parts of three new cities – Birmingham, AL; Fort Wayne, IN; and Oklahoma City, OK – are getting service.

That brings the total to 60 cities where 5G Home Internet is available. Still not exactly nation-spanning, no, but better than before. Verizon is also working on deploying 5G Ultra Wideband via the C-band spectrum.

The expansion news comes hot on the heels of T-Mobile announcing price cuts for its 5G Home Internet service earlier in the week. While the rival system lacks the outright speed that Verizon's mmWave-based service uses, meaning slower upload and download rates, it's available in more places, and now T-Mobile is pricing it at $50 per month.

Verizon's 5G Home Internet, in contrast, is $50 per month if you're an existing Verizon subscriber with a qualifying mobile plan. If you don't fall into that category, however, it's $70 per month. Common across both services is that you can install the whole thing on your own, rather than having to wait for an engineer to visit.

Verizon is also offering up to $500 to cover early termination fees, if you plan to dump your existing internet provider and switch to its service instead. You'll need to provide the carrier with evidence of that charge, mind, and it'll need to have been within the past four months of signing up to 5G Home Internet. If you subsequently cancel Verizon's service within 90 days, meanwhile, the carrier will charge back the early termination fee credit.

If you're tempted, Verizon has coverage checkers to show just who should be able to get the service. If you can't, you can also sign up for notifications should that change in the future.