Verizon customers usually pay the bill, but I found one who scores a check instead

A Verizon customer shared on Reddit that the company put a 5G node on his roof and pays him $1,300 a month for it. This is a twist from the usual things we hear from carriers around here, as this customer is not only claiming that he’s getting paid but that he’s getting insane speeds too. We’re talking the kinds of speeds you’d want to get while using an iPhone 18 Pro Max or the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The roof is on fire, for 5G nodes

Reddit user u/KxngDaviid posted an unusual story in r/verizon today. He claims Verizon installed a 5G node on his roof and pays him $1,300 a month for his trouble. He says the offer came as a proposal in the mail, which he thought was a scam at first, but ended up being a great deal.



According to him, he lives in a two-story multifamily on a hill in a spot where there are no utility poles. He also states that his town wouldn’t allow Verizon to use the streetlights for its purposes, which makes his rooftop a desirable place for Verizon to place its node.

It should be noted that the user claims speeds of 3,886.45 Mbps down and 285 up, which are cellular speeds. His home internet is separate using Fios, which is capped around 2 Gig.

Why Verizon wants rooftops on top of hills

Verizon’s website states that its Ultra Wideband network uses small cells, or nodes, in addition to traditional towers because they are small and can be mounted on streetlights, utility poles and buildings. The company needs many nodes because mmWave doesn’t travel far and is easily blocked.



Leases like this are handled by Verizon’s Network Real Estate department. Homeowners can submit their property for use, but Verizon says it only answers inquiries that meet its needs and will also require 24-hour access to the site.

If you’re worried about how safe this is, the user also said that Verizon ran an RF test at launch to make sure the exposure stays under FCC limits.

What this means for those who desire this “perk”

According to the poster, his type of setup has a 20-year lease that renews every 5 years, with a 3.2% raise per renewal. He also cannot renegotiate until Verizon has used all its renewals. His lawyer added a no-subleasing clause so that other carriers can’t put more equipment up on his roof.

For other Verizon customers nearby, a node setup like this means faster speeds. However, for everyone else, since Verizon chooses the site, it’s not something you can apply for and expect.

It’s nice to see money flowing the other way, for once

I’ve never been offered money to put a 5G node on my rooftop, but then again, I don’t live on top of a hill in a town that blocks streetlight mounting. Still, it’s nice to see someone reaping the benefits of this situation, and the money going to someone other than the shareholders and the executives that run these multibillion-dollar companies.

More on Verizon and its 5G buildout:

• Verizon's 5G push is reaching residential streets
• Everything about the iPhone 18 Pro Max
• Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

• Follow me on X and Threads

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