DURHAM – You can now get on the internet at fiber speeds – without the fiber. Verizon will provide high-speed wireless service, equipped with emerging 5G technology in some parts of Durham as part of an ongoing national rollout.
The company said in a statement that the 5G Home Internet service won’t have data limits, slowdowns, or throttling, and would provide speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second with typical download speeds of 300 Mbps for customers using what’s called mmWave spectrum, and cost between $50 and $70 per month.
One gig speed is offered by a variety of internet providers across the Triangle with 2 gig speed available from Google Fiber.
The 5G router. Source: Verizon
Verizon recently released a new 5G Ultra Wideband-ready router, and that is the technology that customers who are in qualifying areas of the Triangle will receive to connect to the company’s LTE Home Internet service.
LTE is a telecommunications term – Long Term Evolution – that “increases the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements,” says Wikipedia. LTE was a foundation for 4G wireless service, now exceeded in speed by 5G.
A Verizon spokesperson told WRAL TechWire that the setup of the router is simple, and would not require a service technician to install.
“With the new Verizon Internet Gateway device, our customers will have a head start to take advantage of a new era of experiences in the comfort of their home,” said Frank Boulben, chief revenue officer for Verizon Consumer Group, in a statement. “The options for fast, reliable internet have never been better.”
The company is also providing 4G LTE service, through what Verizon calls the Internet Gateway, which ranges in price from $40 to $60 per month and provides peak internet speeds of 50 megabytes per second. Verizon said that customers could find out whether service was available in their neighborhood by visiting an online webpage.
Verizon separates cable TV, internet offerings in revamp of service offerings
Verizon originally announced it would expand its wireless 5G service in 30 cities across the United States in February 2019, expanded to Charlotte in April 2019, and parts of Raleigh in October 2020.
Verizon announced in January 2020 that it would sell its Fios TV service separately from its home internet services, which WRAL TechWire covered.
Verizon sold nearly 6 million residential and small business home phone lines and broadband connections, including ones based in the Triangle region, to Frontier Communications in an $8.6 billion deal in 2009, and the deal closed in 2010.
