Verizon 5G Home Internet spreads to more cities with new cord-cutter deal

Verizon's 5G Home Internet service is expanding, with more cities lighting up the cable-replacement and the carrier promising to help cover early-termination fees to get out of your old contract if you switch. Seven new places are getting the option of 5G for their home internet connection, with Verizon promising up to 1 Gbps downloads.

Admittedly that's the peak rate, though Verizon's suggestion of typical download speeds being around 300 Mbps is still impressive. Uploads will usually be around 50 Mbps, the carrier says. 4G LTE is used as a backup in case the 5G network goes down.

From today, parts of Columbus, OH; Greensboro, NC; and Raleigh, NC will be added to the Verizon 5G Home Internet list. As of June 10, they'll be joined by parts of parts of Des Moines, IA; New Orleans, LA; Seattle, WA; and Tucson, AZ.

It'll bring the total number of cities with service to 40, Verizon says. That's still far from blanket coverage, of course, though arguably the carrier's use of mmWave 5G for this makes far more sense than in smartphones, where trying to locate a certain position with sufficient signal can be problematic.

As availability spreads, Verizon is looking to win over those unhappy with their current ISP. The carrier is offering to cover up to $500 in early termination fees incurred by cutting the cord, assuming you can show that your old cable or DSL provider charged a fee within the past four months.

That might not be the only way in which Verizon's service is cheaper, mind. Existing customers get service for $50 per month, including taxes and fees; if you don't already have a qualifying mobile plan, it's $70 per month. There's only one tariff, and it doesn't have data limits or throttling.

The system itself is designed to be self-installed. There's a router and a window antenna, with the Verizon 5G Internet Gateway app walking users through the process of getting everything set up. If you buy the system online, and before June 22, Verizon will also apply a one-time $100 bill credit once you activate.

It's not the only freebie. Signing up currently gets you a Samsung Chromebook 4 11.6", along with a Stream TV device, twelve months of discovery+ subscription, and two months of SLING TV.

The full lists of supported cities – as of June 10 – is below, and you can check specifics with Verizon's 5G Home Internet service locator.

Verizon 5G Home Internet availability list:

Arlington, TX

Anaheim, CA

Atlanta, GA

Charlotte, NC

Chicago, IL

Cincinnati, OH

Cleveland, OH

Columbus, OH

Dallas, TX

Denver, CO

Des Moines, IA

Detroit, MI

Greensboro, NC

Hartford, CT

Houston, TX

Indianapolis, IN

Kansas City, MO

Las Vegas, NV

Los Angeles, CA

Louisville, KY

Memphis, TN

Miami, FL

Milwaukee, WI

Minneapolis, MN

New Orleans, LA

Omaha, NE

Phoenix, AZ

Raleigh, NC

Riverside, CA

Sacramento, CA

Salt Lake City, UT

San Antonio, TX

San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA

San Jose, CA

Seattle, WA

St. Louis, MO

St. Paul, MN

Tampa, FL

Tucson, AZ