Verizon Rolls Out 5G Home Internet Service, T-Mobile Takes Shots

Verizon has officially launched their new Internet service, 5G Home, in four cities: Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Houston. Existing Verizon customers can get the service for $50, while non-customers will pay $70. Although Verizon isn’t adhering to 5G industry standards and instead using a propriety solution, users can expect speeds around 300 Mbps.

Signing up for the service gets you a free Apple TV as well as three months of YouTube TV. Users will also have access to a 24-hour concierge service.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has already taken a swing at the service, criticizing the lack of coverage and Verizon’s unwillingness to meet industry standards. One point he makes, and he’s right, is that Verizon likely launched their service half-baked just so that they could be the first ones to do so. There were a lot of players in the race to 5G, and yes, Verizon can claim that they’re the first to offer a next-generation home network, but chances are the next company to do so will offer something bigger and better by both taking their time and possibly learning from Verizon’s mistakes.

When Legere attacks their coverage, he’s not necessarily referring to the launch cities, but local coverage. In a series of tweets, he specifically calls out the coverage issues in apartment buildings, where residents may not be able to get the service if they live on certain floors.

It’ll be interesting to see what T-Mobile’s 5G network looks like when it eventually rolls out and whether or not Legere has to eat his words about 5G Home.