Verizon’s big 5G upgrade will enable high-speed home internet to reach nearly 20 million customers – CNET

Along with AT&T, Verizon had previously expected to flip the switch on C-band on Jan. 5, but both agreed to a last-minute deal with the Federal Aviation Administration to delay its activation for two weeks. In that time, all parties will address concerns that the 3.7-3.8GHz frequencies used by the carriers in their C-band 5G networks might interfere with aviation instruments.
Verizon

The update is an increase from the carrier’s previously stated plans to offer home internet over 4G LTE or millimeter-wave 5G to 15 million customers by the end of 2021.
The expanded 5G Home customer base will be spread across many of the country’s largest cities included in the C-band rollout, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Miami. The coverage will also expand over 46 partial economic areas, or PEAs, that are covered by Verizon C-band, mmWave, and 4G LTE networks.

When connected to 5G Home, what Verizon calls its home internet service that is available over 5G, the carrier says that users can expect “typical” download speeds around 300 Mbps and peaks up to 1 gigabit per second. These are comparable to the speeds offered by the wired fiber-optic Verizon Fios service.
Verizon’s expansion of its 5G network on Jan. 19 won’t just increase speeds on the go. The carrier has also been increasing its coverage for home internet, and in two weeks, nearly 20 million customers will be able to sign up for it.
Verizon has no data caps for its home internet service, and taxes and fees are included in its starting price of per month (with automatic payments enabled). To attract subscribers, the carrier has been bundling a host of perks, including Google Nest devices, price lock guarantees and even a free first month of service. On Tuesday, it added a new incentive for those with its Do More, Play More or Get More wireless plans, allowing them to save 50% on the monthly cost of 5G Home if they have both services.
Even after announcing the delay, Verizon updated its timetable for bringing C-band 5G to 100 million customers and now says it plans to hit that mark when it goes live in January, up from its original goal of March.
Verizon’s home internet service translates the mobile network signals to Wi-Fi, allowing folks to get the same fast speeds they experience on the go on their devices, computers and TVs. But the expansion of the carrier’s 5G service with the activation of the so-called C-band frequencies on Jan. 19 will allow more customers to access those speeds as part of a home internet service.
On Jan. 19, customers will be able to sign up for Verizon Home 5G in 900 cities within 46 PEAs, which are listed below:
Verizon’s 5G Home modem.
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More cities and PEAs will be added over time, though Verizon did say that the service won’t come to areas where it already offers wired Fios high-speed internet. The carrier hasn’t clarified whether it will offer its wireless internet service to households that are in areas with Fios but don’t have access to it.