Best 5G Network for Home Internet

[TheRealTVGuy]

Just wanted to get the Forum's take on who has the best deal for 5G home internet presently. Living in Florida, hurricanes and the devastation they bring, such as weeks-long power outages, have caused us to invest in backup internet capabilities. Our main service is (unfortunately) provided by Xfinity and usually provides us with enough bandwidth and speed to support all of our activities.

When we do lose power, we have a whole-home generator and UPS-battery backup that keeps our modem and router happy, but as you know, no shore power means no cable internet. Currently we're running a Cradlepoint router/hotspot with a Verizon LTE SIM card for backup, but our plan doesn't include unlimited data for that card and it chews through the monthly allotment of higher speed data very quickly. After the allotment is gone, the speeds just slow to a crawl. In addition to running our business from home, we have two kids who constantly video chat and online game, and we're cord cutters, so having enough speed and bandwidth to deliver 4k programming to 4 Apple TVs simultaneously is a must.

Not being able to access HULU+Live aside, I'm looking at both Verizon and TMobile's home internet services to use as a backup during power outages. TMobile's map claims to provide 5G "Ultra Capacity" to our property and Verizon's map shows 5G "Ultra Wideband" covering the property as well. The modem will live in an interior closet and I'm not sure if either company offers a model that can support external antennae, so I'm sure we won't see the "blazing fast Gbps" speeds they advertise. Heck, even when standing in the middle of our open field, my iPhone 13 Pro on Verizon 5G never goes into "UW" mode.

All that said, if you were me, what service would you go for?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I get what you're after but I want to play devil's advocate. If there is an emergency either state wide, city, etc the phone companies will typically throttle data traffic for civilians to give emergency personnel (they have different plans) priority on the towers. The most important thing is voice first then data with priority levels being determined by the tower providers. If you're trying to watch Hulu and do other non-essential things it will most likely be throttled regardless.

That said, Verizon UW requires you to be very close to a tower and while it is fast it eats up huge bandwidth because of this (I have UW and easily hit over 1GB down). If I was you I would get an unlimited hot spot plan and tether my laptop/computer to my phone OR just face the reality and realize what you're trying to do over 5G (multiple 4K streaming, games, etc) is simply not realistic.

 

[jav6454]

You realize you can test drive T-Mobile right? I would go that route first.

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

I get what you're after but I want to play devil's advocate. If there is an emergency either state wide, city, etc the phone companies will typically throttle data traffic for civilians to give emergency personnel (they have different plans) priority on the towers. The most important thing is voice first then data with priority levels being determined by the tower providers. If you're trying to watch Hulu and do other non-essential things it will most likely be throttled regardless.

That said, Verizon UW requires you to be very close to a tower and while it is fast it eats up huge bandwidth because of this (I have UW and easily hit over 1GB down). If I was you I would get an unlimited hot spot plan and tether my laptop/computer to my phone OR just face the reality and realize what you're trying to do over 5G (multiple 4K streaming, games, etc) is simply not realistic.

Thanks for the feedback. You've given me something to chew on.

 

[Juicy Box]

I had high hopes for 5G @home service, but the coverage is still pretty scarce in my area.

The idea of breaking up the cable companies' oligopolies really got me excited, but so far, 5G @home services seem to be expanding coverage very, very slow.

You might want to check out StarLink, as one of the listed benefits is for natural disasters. I have seen impressive down and upload numbers, as well as low latency, which is crazy considering it is satellite-based internet.

Just wanted to get the Forum's take on who has the best deal for 5G home internet presently.

You would be better asking your neighbors or a local forum, as this totally depends on location.

 

[jav6454]

I had high hopes for 5G @home service, but the coverage is still pretty scarce in my area.

The idea of breaking up the cable companies' oligopolies really got me excited, but so far, 5G @home services seem to be expanding coverage very, very slow.

You might want to check out StarLink, as one of the listed benefits is for natural disasters. I have seen impressive down and upload numbers, as well as low latency, which is crazy considering it is satellite-based internet.



You would be better asking your neighbors or a local forum, as this totally depends on location.

The problem with 5G is that signal is finicky due ton the higher frequencies sometimes used. As per StarLink, once it goes mainstream the real test will begin to see if it can sustain those speeds and latencies. Also, right now, StarLink is on a trial basis and not yet released everywhere.

 

[planteater]

Does anyone use Verizon 5G Home Internet? I'm thinking of getting it, but need to know if they throttle data after a certain usage amount. Any experience with them?

 

[jav6454]

Does anyone use Verizon 5G Home Internet? I'm thinking of getting it, but need to know if they throttle data after a certain usage amount. Any experience with them?

They don't throttle according to their website.

5G Home Internet & 5G Wifi | Verizon

Do more with 5G Home Internet. With 5G-fast speeds you can stream, game, & power your smart home in a whole new way. This is 5G built right.

www.verizon.com

 

[planteater]

They don't throttle according to their website.

5G Home Internet & 5G Wifi | Verizon

Do more with 5G Home Internet. With 5G-fast speeds you can stream, game, & power your smart home in a whole new way. This is 5G built right.

www.verizon.com

I read that before posting. I don't see where they mention it. The site mentions no data cap, but thats not the same thing. I did end up contacting Verizon and they verbally stated that there is no throttling though.

Unfortunately even though I get 5G UW on my phone through Verizon, and they are sending advertisements to my home mailbox, they stated that the service isn't available to me yet. Too bad, I was looking forward to it.

 

[jav6454]

Verbally mentioning isn't a sure thing. Reps sometimes don't have all the info.

 

[planteater]

Verbally mentioning isn't a sure thing. Reps sometimes don't have all the info.

Agree.

For the price and with no commitment, I'll get it once it becomes available. I was told soon. And I'll know in the first 24 hours if they throttle it after I do a full backup of my MBP online.

 

[jav6454]

Agree.

For the price and with no commitment, I'll get it once it becomes available. I was told soon. And I'll know in the first 24 hours if they throttle it after I do a full backup of my MBP online.

The fine print says a 2-year contract is required for service.

 

[planteater]

The fine print says a 2-year contract is required for service.

I see: "Enjoy the freedom of month-to-month without early termination fees or penalties."

Where are you seeing a commitment? Is that it if they pay off an existing carrier to switch carriers? The price requires phone service which I already have and I plan to stick with Verizon.

 

[jav6454]

I see: "Enjoy the freedom of month-to-month without early termination fees or penalties."

Where are you seeing a commitment? Is that it if they pay off an existing carrier to switch carriers? The price requires phone service which I already have and I plan to stick with Verizon.

Sorry I misread. I saw the "2 Year Price Guarantee"

 

[max2]

Just wanted to get the Forum's take on who has the best deal for 5G home internet presently. Living in Florida, hurricanes and the devastation they bring, such as weeks-long power outages, have caused us to invest in backup internet capabilities. Our main service is (unfortunately) provided by Xfinity and usually provides us with enough bandwidth and speed to support all of our activities.

When we do lose power, we have a whole-home generator and UPS-battery backup that keeps our modem and router happy, but as you know, no shore power means no cable internet. Currently we're running a Cradlepoint router/hotspot with a Verizon LTE SIM card for backup, but our plan doesn't include unlimited data for that card and it chews through the monthly allotment of higher speed data very quickly. After the allotment is gone, the speeds just slow to a crawl. In addition to running our business from home, we have two kids who constantly video chat and online game, and we're cord cutters, so having enough speed and bandwidth to deliver 4k programming to 4 Apple TVs simultaneously is a must.

Not being able to access HULU+Live aside, I'm looking at both Verizon and TMobile's home internet services to use as a backup during power outages. TMobile's map claims to provide 5G "Ultra Capacity" to our property and Verizon's map shows 5G "Ultra Wideband" covering the property as well. The modem will live in an interior closet and I'm not sure if either company offers a model that can support external antennae, so I'm sure we won't see the "blazing fast Gbps" speeds they advertise. Heck, even when standing in the middle of our open field, my iPhone 13 Pro on Verizon 5G never goes into "UW" mode.

All that said, if you were me, what service would you go for?

To bad you don't have Fiber.

That mostly stays up no matter what. As long as you have some kind of power to the router/gateway and GPON I think it is called sorry.

 

[MacBH928]

you should get fiber but if you can't

i can tell you that 5G routers when they have weak signal they should fallback on 4G service which can reach 100Mbps . speed and coverage vary but network operators but from what i have seen Verizon seem more invested in 5G home service. better research that though and not take my word for it

EDIT: If your city loses power doesnt that mean the cell tower will also lose power? if so your 5G will be so slow.

If you want you can install the router where ever it best gets the signal and then you can distribute the Wifi using a mesh routers(i recommend netgear Orbi or Asus Zen) . running wires is event better by running ethernet wires around the house and having wifi access point at each end but this is a more complex setup.

your best bet for down internet is one of those Elon Musk satelitte interner dishes, i think speeds are about 30Mbps which should be enough to stream a video or 2.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Sorry to revive an 8 month old thread, but I’m currently testing the T-Mobile home internet device. I’m in Greenville SC where I’m supposed to me getting full 5G coverage. I do with my phone, but the best I can get with the device is 2 bars. I’ve tried every 2nd floor window area and even went into the middle of the front and back yard and still can’t get any better signal.

Even though Tmo is offering it for $30/mo with price lock and no commitment, I think I’m sending it back. Just can’t get good signal here.