Verizon has confirmed it will switch on its new 5G C-Band network for more than 100 million people in the US later this month. The news comes after both Verizon and AT&T cut a deal with the FAA to voluntarily delay the deployment of the C-Band spectrum over flight safety concerns.
Verizon now says (via PCMag) it will start rolling out its new 5G network in more than 1700 cities starting Jan 19, which is two weeks later than the company’s original schedule (Jan 5). Verizon’s initial plan was to cover 100 million users by March 2022, so overall, this upgrade is still coming early.
“This month, more than 100 million people in 1,700-plus cities around the nation will have access to speeds up to 10x faster than 4G LTE1 via Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network,” Verizon said in a blog post.
Beyond offering faster speeds and improved coverage, the C-Band will also allow Verizon to expand its home internet service, 5G Home, to more than 20 million customers.
While Verizon has long offered a much faster 5G experience over millimeter waves to its customer, it’s only available at select public locations such as airports, malls, stadiums, etc. Meanwhile, the company’s 5G Nationwide is more widespread but delivers 4G-like speeds as it runs on the lower spectrum bands. The C-band 5G will fill this gap by offering respectable 5G speeds while also offering widespread coverage. Verizon refers to its C-Band network as 5G Ultra Wideband just like
Verizon promises typical download speeds of 90-170Mbps and up to 1Gbps in certain areas. Meanwhile, typical upload speeds will be between 15-30Mbps and up to 100Mbps.
Verizon has also announced some changes to its wireless plans. For one, the Play More and Do More plan now offers 25GB of high-speed hotspot data, up from 15GB. Similarly, the Get More plan will offer 50GB of hotspot data and truly unlimited high-speed data on your primary device.