Among the key questions about 5G service have been retail pricing, handset cost, usage plans and the role of 4G. So we now have the first glimmers of how Verizon 5G service will answer those key questions.
Based on what Verizon did when launching 4G, we could have predicted a slight price premium for 5G. And that is the case. Verizon’s mobile 5G service plans will cost about $10 a month more than the comparable 4G plans.
So 5G “comes with unlimited data, available for just $10 a month (with the first three months free) with any Verizon unlimited plan, including Verizon Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited or Above Unlimited plans,” Verizon says.
One of the other issues is handset cost, and Verizon’s initial effort is to minimize device cost. “For a limited time, preorder the 5G moto mod for just $50 ($349.99 retail),” Verizon says. Even at full retail, so long as a consumer is willing to use the device instead of an iPhone or other high-end Android, device prices are fairly modest.
Usage allowances also are key, in part because that speaks to the value proposition, and in part because unlimited usage opens the way to full substitution of the fixed connection by 5G. On that score, Verizon is not putting up barriers.
Usage is unlimited with no speed degradation once usage gets heavy. “5G data usage with the moto mod is unlimited with no data deprioritization,” Verizon says.
Chicago and Minneapolis are Verizon’s first 5G Ultra Wideband mobility cities, launching April 11, with more than 30 markets set to launch in 2019.
As expected, given the limited early coverage, 5G users will be switched to 4G when the 5G network is not available, much as users were switched from 4G to 3G in the early days of the 4G rollout.
“When you use your 5G moto mod outside of the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband coverage area, the moto z3 will automatically switch from the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network to the Verizon 4G LTE network,” Verizon notes.
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