AT&T's future 5G pricing plan: the faster you go, the more you pay
Verizon is currently offering mobile 5G service in two markets, Chicago and Minneapolis. Yesterday, Verizon announced 20 new markets where it will soon offer the next generation of wireless connectivity. Until May 16th, when the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G launches, the only way to access Verizon's 5G network in markets supporting the service is with the Moto Z3 with the 5G Moto Mod attached. Verizon was going to charge these 5G subscribers $10 per month over the regular cost of their 4G LTE plans. However, because Big Red's 5G network has had spotty coverage in the two markets where it is available, Verizon has decided to waive the $10 monthly charge for now.
And that brings us to AT&T, which actually launched its mobile 5G network before Verizon did. Right now it is offered in 19 markets with subscribers using the Netgear Nighthawk 5G mobile hot spot to access the service. Later this year, it will offer two 5G phones from Samsung, including the Galaxy S10 5G. The second model will support both 5G mmWave and sub-6GHz spectrum.
AT&T, like Verizon, is still feeling its way around the future of 5G. According to The Verge, CEO Randall Stephenson made some comments about 5G pricing during the carrier's earnings call last week. The executive said that 5G pricing could be based on home internet service where pricing is different depending on the speed tier chosen. This would be a huge change from the way carriers offer 4G LTE service, which is one price regardless of how fast the data is actually traveling.
"I will be very surprised if, as we move into wireless, the pricing regime in wireless doesn’t look something like the pricing regime you see in fixed line. If you can offer a gig speed, there are some customers that are willing to pay a premium for 500 meg to a gig speed, and so forth. So I expect that to be the case. We’re two to three years away from seeing that play out."-Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
5G data speeds are expected to be up to 10 times faster than 4G LTE. As a result, new businesses and services will be created thanks to the faster speeds. We also could see self-driving cars on the street, and new innovations that we can't even dream about right now. It will take a few years before 5G service in the U.S. is as widespread as 4G LTE is right now.
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