Spectrum Mobile is now offering 5G wireless service, however, it comes with a big limitation. Only those that subscribe to Spectrum Mobile's $45 "unlimited" plan are allowed access to the network. Customers who subscribe to a By-The-Gig plan are limited to 4G LTE access only.
Spectrum Mobile began offering 5G coverage a little over a week ago and it coincided with their launch of 3 5G enabled phones, the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G ($41.67/month), Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G ($58.34/month), and the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G ($50.00/month). All phones are being offered with 0% APR financing for 24 months.
Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum Mobile, seems to have beaten its rivals out of the gate in the race to begin offering and advertising a 5G network. Comcast's Xfinity Mobile website still shows 5G as something that is coming soon. Both Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile provide cellular service to subscribers primarily through the use of Verizon's network. Both brands also use WiFi calling and a network of WiFi hotspots to provide additional coverage. Altice Mobile meanwhile, still isn't advertising 5G. Altice Mobile is run by the cable giant Altice USA and service is provided primarily on the Sprint network with AT&T also used.
5G network technology promises to offer increased speeds and more bandwidth. However, Spectrum Mobile will not be offering any more data with its "unlimited" data plan.
According to Spectrum Mobile's terms of service, the unlimited data plan only comes with 20GB of high-speed data each month before data speeds are throttled to 512Kbps for the rest of the billing cycle. Only 5GB of full-speed mobile hotspot is allowed per month before speeds are throttled to a maximum of 600Kbps. Video streaming is still limited to a resolution of 480p. There is also a data prioritization policy in place. During times of heavy network congestion, customers may experience temporarily reduced data speeds. The data prioritization policy may be a disappointment for some to see, given the increased bandwidth that is supposed to be offered by 5G networks. Spectrum proclaims that customers can expect typical 5G download speeds to be in the realm of 450Mbps and upload speeds to be 50Mbps. Whether a customer subscribes to the unlimited data plan with a 4G LTE device or 5G device, pricing will be the same. Spectrum Mobile's unlimited plan costs $45/month and taxes and fees are included in the price.
Spectrum Mobile is offering 5G access in all locations that Verizon Wireless has it enabled which include the following cities:
Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Providence, St. Paul, Boise, Cincinnati, Denver, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Memphis, Omaha, Salt Lake City, Washington D.C., Boston, Cleveland, Des Moines, Hampton Roads, Kansas City, Miami, Panama City, Sioux Falls, Charlotte, Columbus, Detroit, Hoboken, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Spokane.
It doesn’t look like a good deal to most Unlimited customers. After 20GB’s, our speeds will be lowered to 2G speeds for the rest of the month and they still have data deprioritization. Sounds like a waste of money. So another carrier who claims to offer Unlimited, but in reality doesn’t. The whole 5G is still new and not worth it yet. We can’t even use the same G5 phone over ever part of a carriers 5G. So compatible issues make 5G not worth paying that much for.
Throttled speeds are not 2G and are much faster here than virtually anywhere else. But I agree, it’s a claim of unlimited but really isn’t, and I don’t think 5G is worth it yet either.