Verizon Announces 20 New 5G Ultra-Wideband Cities With Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Pre-Orders
Coinciding with Verizon's exclusive preorder availability of Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G handset, the nation's largest wireless carrier on Thursday announced the expansion of its 5G Ultra Wideband network into 20 additional US cities. That's good news for people who happen to live in places like Atlanta, Boston, and Charlotte.
The same goes for residents of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC.
"The Galaxy S10 5G on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network will give our customers access to incredible speeds and the latest and greatest streaming, augmented-reality, gaming, and consumer and business applications that bring us into a future powered by 5G," said Ronan Dunne, executive vice president and president of Verizon’s consumer group. "With the rollout of 5G in more than 30 markets by the end of 2019 and the upcoming launch of Samsung’s first 5G Galaxy smartphone, we are pulling further ahead of the competition in 5G."
Not to be confused with ATT's "5G Evolution" (or 5G E), which is really just 4G Advanced LTE, Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network is the real deal. It's much faster than 4G, offering typical and peak download speeds of 300Mbps and 1Gbps, respectively. 5G connectivity also boasts lower lag than 4G.
Of course, to take full advantage of a 5G network, you have to live in an area where it is offered (sorry, residents of Johnson City, TN, Clear Creek, WV, and most everywhere else) and own a 5G capable device.
The Galaxy S10 5G fulfills the latter requirement. Verizon gets dibs on preorder availability, though the phone is not cheap. The 256GB model costs $1,299.99, which can be broken down into 24 monthly payments of $54.16, and the 512GB goes for $1,399.99 ($58.33 per month for 24 months).
There are some promotions available to help absorb some of the cost:
- New and existing customers can trade in an eligible smartphone and save up to $450. Discount offered as monthly bill credits.
- Switchers can get an additional $200 prepaid Mastercard if they switch to Verizon. purchase a Galaxy S10 5G on device payment plan and sign up for Verizon Unlimited.
- All customers that preorder a Galaxy S10 5G are eligible for a free VIP Kit that includes a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds and a Samsung Wireless Charging Battery Pack.
Access to 5G speeds comes at a cost too—it's $10 per month extra, available on Verizon's Above and Beyond Unlimited plans. However, Verizon is currently bundling it for free with both plans and will continue to do so for an unspecified "limited time."
The Galaxy S10 5G is available to preorder now and releases to retail on May 16.
