Verizon Prepaid Adds 5G Ultra Wideband Unlimited Smartphone Plan for $70/month

Verizon Prepaid, Verizon's direct prepaid brand, has added a new smartphone cellular plan which offers unlimited on-device 5G Ultra Wideband (UW), 5G Nationwide, or 4G/LTE data. The plan starts at $70/month with autopay($75 without autopay) but includes a 'Loyalty Discount' which brings the pricing down to $60/month with autopay after 9-months. 

All Verizon plans include Verizon Nationwide 5G access, but to date only some postpaid plans and Verizon's prepaid brand Visible included access to their ultra fast mmWave 5G network. 

Verizon Prepaid's new 5G Ultra Wideband Unlimited Plan has a few details which require a bit of explanation and fleshing out - so be sure to sort through them before acquiring the plan. 

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Verizon Prepaid 5G Ultra Wideband Unlimited Plan Specs

Verizon Prepaid's new 5G Ultra Wideband Unlimited plan offers prepaid customers access to both the 5G Ultra Wideband and the 5G Nationwide Verizon networks when calling, texting, or utilizing data via their smartphone device. 

While utilizing data on their smartphone device, customers will have unlimited access to all of Verizon's networks without being subject to throttling - regardless of what network they are connected to.

However, when it comes to utilizing Mobile Hotspot data off of the smartphone, throttling will become a factor based on which network is being used. 

Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband versus 5G Nationwide

5G Ultra Wideband (5G UW) offers the potential for almost ridiculously fast cellular speeds. The downside of 5G UW is its extremely limited range and inability to penetrate walls or even most windows. Verizon is focusing on deploying 5G UW coverage in "parts of" select cities - focusing on urban cores, sports stadiums and arenas, and airports. This sort of short-range technology does not matter in most of the places that RVers and cruisers tend to go.

Verizon's 5G Nationwide, on the other hand, uses a technology called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing to layer 5G on top of Verizon's existing 4G network, enabling real 5G coverage across huge swathes of the country that have been upgraded with DSS-compatible towers. As such, Verizon's longer-range 5G - is 5G Nationawide - is currently only equivalent to "really good 4G" in many areas. 

For more information on 5G Cellular Evolution, see our guide:

Guide to 5G Cellular Fundamentals

Mobile Hotspot Details

Verizon Prepaid's new 5G Ultra Wideband plan is truly unlimited when being utilized on the 5G Ultra Wideband network. When on this network - which is limited to small, populated areas in major cities and hubs of society - plan customers have access to unlimited, full-speed data both on-device and via personal mobile hotspot. 

However, when the plan is on either the 5G Nationwide network or the 4G/LTE network, mobile hotspot throttling is implemented after 10GB of data sharing per month. After 10GB of mobile hotspot is used on either of these networks, mobile hotspot data speeds are slowed to 600 Kbps for the rest of the cycle.

600 Kbps will likely allow you to browse the web or check emails... slowly. 

Network Management

Verizon Prepaid plans on the 4G/LTE or 5G Nationwide networks are always prioritized behind postpaid plans and always subject to network management. 

However, when utilizing the 5G Ultra Wideband network, customers are not subject to network management. 

Video

When on the 5G Ultra Wideband, all video is streamed in HD on the smartphone.

When on the 5G Nationwide or 4G/LTE networks, video is throttled to 480p. 

Devices

This is a 5G smartphone-only plan. In order to purchase the plan - and to access Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband or 5G Nationwide networks, customers must have a 5G capable smartphone device. There is not a prepaid 5G UltraWideband plan, or unlimited plan, available for tablets or Jetpacks. 

Roaming / International Data Use 

The 5G Ultra Wideband Unlimited plan - and all current Verizon Prepaid plans - include 0.5 GB of data use in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands per day, after which speeds are reduced to 2G. If more than 50% of your talk, text, or data usage in a 60-day period is in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, use of services in those destinations may be removed or limited.

Pricing

Like all currently available Verizon Prepaid plans, the new 5G ultra Wideband Unlimited Plan includes a Loyalty discount pricing scheme. 

Pricing for the plan begins at $70/month with autopay ($75/month without autopay). After 3 months of service, an additional $5/month discount is applied to the plan, bringing the price per month to $65 with autopay. After 9 months of service, an additional $5/month discount is applied, bringing the price for the plan to $60/month with autopay. 

Accounts on Verizon Prepaid are family-style, allowing up to 10 lines per account with the ability to mix-and-match plans across an account. This does include being able to add on a $65/month 30GB Jetpack/Tablet plan, or other smartphone lines of service. 

Thoughts & Conclusion

Verizon Prepaid's new Ultra Wideband 5G Unlimited plan brings 5G access to the Verizon Prepaid line-up of plans. 

But, unless you plan on using that 5G Ultra Wideband access, which is limited in its coverage to small areas of city centers and hyper populated places like stadiums and airports, this plan is actually more expensive than Verizon Prepaid's non-Ultra Wideband Unlimited plan.

The Unlimited, non-Ultra Wideband plan is priced at $60/month with autopay for the first 3 months and then reduces to $50/month with autopay after 9 months. Even after tacking on a $5/month fee for 10GB of mobile hotspot data, the non-Ultra Wideband Unlimited plan will cost you $55/month after 9 months compared to $60/month for Ultra Wideband after 9 months with the same hotspot limits (unless being used over Ultra Wideband - when there are no hotspot limits).

For most nomads, this Verizon's 5G UW coverage is of limited interest. 

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