Verizon’s Mobile 5G Arrives April 11 With $85-$105 ‘Unlimited’ Service

After months of teases and relatively few details, Verizon today confirmed both a date and pricing for the launch of its mobile 5G service. The U.S. carrier will offer “unlimited” service in Chicago, Illinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota for between $85 and $105 per month, a premium of $10 over prior 4G/LTE prices, starting on April 11. But there’s more to the story. Though Verizon previously said that its “5G Ultra Wideband Network” will be a single unified offering where both 5G Home and mobile 5G use the same towers and standards-compliant 5G hardware, today’s announcement suggests that that’s not quite ready to happen yet. The carrier instead is starting mobile service in Chicago and Minneapolis with plans to “rapidly expand the coverage area.” Verizon’s existing pre-standards 5G hardware in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento apparently won’t be ready to make the switch on April 11.