Verizon 5G prepaid plan adds Unlimited Ultra Wideband option
Verizon has launched a new prepaid 5G unlimited plan, including 5G Ultra Wideband and mobile hotspot support for the carrier's fastest mmWave connections. The $75 per month plan joins Verizon's existing prepaid 5G options, throwing in the mmWave access that the carrier has currently launched in 64 metro areas.
The perks of the plan actually depend on which of Verizon's 5G networks you're connected to at the time. If you're on the 5G Ultra Wideband network, you get unlimited mobile hotspot support, for example, to share that connection with other devices.
Outside of mmWave, however, if you're on regular 5G or 4G LTE, your hotspot use will not only be slower but capped. Users get 10GB of data in that case, per month, throttling back to 600 Kbps at most for the rest of the billing period. Regardless of network, you get unlimited calls, text and data from the US, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
While the plan is $75 per month, Verizon also has a handful of discounts to trim that down. Those who sign up to auto-pay, for example, get $5 per month off. After three months of service customers will be eligible for a further $5 per month off as part of its loyalty discounts; after nine months of service, an additional $5 per month comes off, bringing the cost to $60 per month.
The reality, of course, is that the plan is only really worth considering if you live near a 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area, or regularly travel to one. Right now, that's a fairly limited selection, typically not even city-wide but in fact just portions of cities. If you can find mmWave coverage it's definitely faster, but it's that finding part that's tricky. Verizon's 5G map shows the service available for both its network types.
That given, Verizon's existing 5G unlimited prepaid plan – $65 per month, or $50 per month after the same auto-pay and loyalty discounts as the more expensive plan – might be better. It includes regular 5G Nationwide access, but not 5G Ultra Wideband. Even with mobile hotspot service an extra $5 per month, that's still cheaper than the new plan.
The other consideration is a 5G-compatible phone. Those with an existing phone – which will need to support both 5G Sub-6 GHz and mmWave in order to take advantage of both of Verizon's network types – can get a $60 saving if they port their number to the prepaid plan. Alternatively, Verizon is happy to sell you something like the TCL 10 5G UW, at $399.99 among the cheapest new options in the US with access to both flavors of 5G.