Verizon has officially begun its mobile 5G rollout, having launched its service in Chicago and Minneapolis as of Wednesday. Customers in these cities will be able to purchase smartphones and data plans that allow for download speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Verizon is offering a three-month test of the service at no additional charge with its unlimited data plans, which includes Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, and Above Unlimited plan. After the trial, the 5G service places will see a $10 price hike.
Peek areas for the service include West Loop and the South Loop, the Magnificent Mile Verizon store, the Gold Coast, Old Town, and River North in Chicago. Minneapolis 5G connectivity can be found in the Downtown area, near the U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis Convention Center, the Minneapolis Central Library, the Mill City Museum, Target Center and First Avenue venues, The Commons, areas of Elliot Park, and The Mall of America Verizon store.
While this launch has been a long time coming, it
Verizon 5G smartphones
The Motorola Moto Z3 is now officially 5G enabled, eight months after its market release. The smartphone received the PDX29.84-30 build Android Pie update Wednesday, with its system changelog detailing support for the device’s 5G Moto Mod. The mod is currently available for preorder and on sale for $199.99, but will release April 11. The regular retail price is $349.99. Verizon subscribers must have the Moto Z3 smartphone before they purchase the Moto Mod. The device is currently available for $10 a month for 24 months.
Verizon notably rolled out its 5G service a week early, as it was supposed to launch on April 11. This could be to ensure that the 5G service was available and stable before releasing the necessary hardware for the available 5G device.
Other 5G devices to release on Verizon include the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which may release May 16, and the LG V50 ThinQ, which may release in the summer.
