If you can get 5G on your phone, you can get 5G internet at home, right? Not exactly. 5G has been around for some time thanks to efforts from major operators AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon 5G Internet Services The same address as 5G cellular service is not strictly available.
I ran into this problem when I switched out from the mobile operator AT&T cellular service arrive T-Mobile phone service. I was deeply impressed by the 5G performance of the phone. However, even though I got T-Mobile 5G mobile service at home, my address is not eligible T-Mobile 5G home internet.
It’s not just T-Mobile. Verizon’s cellular services and AT&T. Their 5G home internet products are also not explicitly available at all addresses covered by the company’s 5G coverage map. For example, even if you have Verizon’s ultra-broadband service nearby, there is no given Verizon 5G home internet. Let’s learn more about the reasons.
What is 5G?
Before we get more details about major 5G home internet providers, let’s clear the confusion about what 5G is actually.
5G stands for the “fifth generation”. It represents the fifth generation wireless data network, not with 5GHzoften by Wi-Fi router. If you have 5G home internet, you use a completely fixed one Wireless Internet connection provided by cellular providers. You may have a 5G home internet connection that uses a Wi-Fi router with a 5GHz frequency.
It is also worth noting that 5G comes in three types: millimeter wave, mid-band and low-frequency. Cellular Home Internet providers typically use all three providers to create a strong, diverse network.
Wait, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon offer 5G home internet?
Yes. T-Mobile and Verizon use cellular radio waves to provide dedicated 5G home internet plans. Each provider’s plan adopts direct, all-inclusive pricing that can waive equipment fees, data caps, periodic agreements, and other troubles associated with Internet service providers.
T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Features Plans for $50 to $70 per month, with 87 to 415 megabits per second. Verizon offers two plans – the Verizon 5G home ($50 per month) and the Verizon 5G Home Plus ($70 per month). Qualified Verizon and T-Mobile phone plans can also hit monthly bill prices from $15 to $25. Simplicity and a straightforward approach seem to be key to both companies.
What about AT&T? Although an AT&T spokesperson told CNET that “fiber is still our focus,” the company also offers 5G home internet: AT&T Internet Air. It may offer download speeds higher than its hybrid DSL service (up to 225 megabits per second) and is now available in over 100 locations in the U.S.
If AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon take home internet seriously, why isn’t it as available as its overall 5G coverage?
Verizon also includes your 5G device for a monthly fee.
When I was a former CNET colleague Eli Blumenthal tests Verizon 5G homehe Famous The 5G connection on the iPhone is better than the ones of his 5G home hub.
He is doing something.
A Verizon spokesperson told me that it designed the network with mobile customers. “We continue to allocate spectrum to ensure our mobile customers have the reliability they expect from Verizon,” they said via email. “As we deploy more spectrum – beyond what our model needs to be the highest reliability of mobile customers, we are also able to provide 5G home services.”
5G allows for greater connection density – About 1 million equipment per square kilometer – Cell connectivity than previous generations. Is that a lot? Yes, it’s about 100 times better than 4Gbut this is not infinite.
Telecom Insider Jeff Moore Wave7 ResearchHe said he believes T-Mobile also has a clear idea of how home internet products use a lot of capacity on mobile networks.
He pointed at me YouTube Interview Together with Kendra Lord, director of geospatial engineering and analysis at T-Mobile, she compared the availability of 5G home internet to the number of seats on an aircraft.
“It’s not just the number of households we think can get [T-Mobile 5G Home Internet],” she said, “but we can say “yes” to a specific department. ”
The spokesperson confirmed this mentality when I contacted T-Mobile for further insights. I told me via email: “There are still many families who are not eligible for home internet, even if their mobile devices may get 5G, which is intentional.”
“Our fixed wireless home internet is Extra Capacity on the wireless network. In some areas, we have additional capabilities on the network, but in others, we don’t. Therefore, we assigned domain-by-field home internet access. ”
In other words, it is possible that my home will get 5G mobile phone service at home, and my next door neighbor may even have T-Mobile 5G home internet. However, due to capacity limitations in my area, my address may not be able to use this home internet product.
Is the home Internet a hustle and bustle of mobile operators?
T-Mobile’s gateway devices are already shown here, including devices with monthly fees.
I would love to think entering ISP games is a lark for these companies. Moore considered another layer.
“Mobility is the core business of T-Mobile, which in most cases is Verizon’s core business,” Moore said. “But, in particular, T-Mobile told Wall Street that besides the sale,” he said. [home internet] To provide services to businesses, it is also increasingly entering rural America. I don’t think it’s just a PR stunt.
All numbers support Moore’s assessment. In its fourth quarter 2024 report T-Mobile is proud to announce it has attracted more than 6 million customers. It’s an impressive number, less than three years after the product was launched nationwide.
Overall, T-Mobile has been aggressive on the court. In 2022, it begins Internet freedom Push, tilt Americans’ dissatisfaction with ISP And encourage people to “break up with big Internet” by trying T-Mobile 5G home internet. It continues to seek consumer attention, A radical spring campaign was launched recently.
Verizon’s proposal is also ambitious, while reducing the “ISP is evil”. That might be because Verizon Fios – The company’s fiber internet service – is an ISP and one of the few people who often have high ratings. In this case, 5G home internet seems to have little impact on the “large internet” and instead expands Verizon Home Internet games to the Northeast (Verizon Fios’ playground) and expands it to games in other parts of the country.
At least, 5G home internet has successfully become a convenient and reliable way to access the internet, especially for rural customers. So next time you ask, “Even if I have 5G on my phone at home, why can’t I get 5G home internet?” I suggest you hang it tight. Both operators are actively optimizing their networks for mobile first and home internet in a monthly dynamic process. 2025 may be the year you try 5G to get a broadband connection to your home.
