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Want that iPhone 12 with 5G? These are the plans you'll need at each of the carriers

5G is here, but if you want to make the most of it you'll need to have the right plan.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
Expertise 5G, mobile networks, wireless carriers, phones, tablets, streaming devices, streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming,
Eli Blumenthal
6 min read
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5G has arrived at all three major US carriers. Here are the plans you'll need to use it. 

Angela Lang/CNET

As the fall phone season continues, 5G is expected to play a major role for carriers and device-makers looking to get people to upgrade. With low-band 5G service now deployed nationwide by T-Mobile AT&T  and  Verizon , 2020 marks the first time all three carriers will have next-generation networks widely available. But getting onto 5G requires more than just a compatible phone. For some carriers, you also need to have the right plan. Before you upgrade to a new iPhone 12, announced at last month's Apple event, or a 5G Android phone, here's what you need to know for getting 5G on each of the three major US carriers.

Read more: The best phone to buy for 2020

The flavors of 5G

With 5G, there are three big flavors of wireless airwaves to know about: low-band, midband and millimeter-wave. 

Low-band 5G offers the best coverage and provides the foundation for 5G, though speeds are often not much better than a good 4G LTE signal. 

Millimeter-wave is a higher-frequency version of 5G, offering speeds that can easily top 1 gigabit per second. The problem with millimeter-wave, however, is range. It is often only available on particular blocks of certain cities, doesn't work indoors and can be impeded by leaves, glass and even a hand between your phone and the transmitter. 

Midband is, as its name implies, the middle ground between the two. It offers much faster speed than low-band while offering much better coverage than millimeter-wave, including the ability to work indoors. 

This is largely available only on T-Mobile right now, thanks to its Sprint merger. AT&T and Verizon are expected to add midband 5G in the future, with both anticipated to be active bidders in a Federal Communications Commission auction for more of this valuable spectrum later this year. 

Read more: How to pick the right 5G carrier for you

AT&T

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AT&T offers 5G on its latest unlimited plans. 

Angela Lang/CNET

To tap into 5G on AT&T you'll need to make sure you're on one of the carrier's latest unlimited plans known as Unlimited Starter, Unlimited Extra and Unlimited Elite. All include unlimited talk, text and data in the US, Mexico and Canada. 

The carrier recently added the ability to mix and match unlimited plans on a family plan, allowing you to adjust the service for what each member of your family needs. To keep our pricing simple, we're going to look at the cost as if each were the same plan. 

For four lines, pricing for Starter begins at $140 a month ($35 a line) but this doesn't include any mobile hotspot and data can be slowed when the network is congested.

Watch this: With iPhone 12, Verizon Wireless CEO teases a better 5G experience

The next step up, Extra, is $160 a month ($40 a line). This plan includes 50GB of high-speed data per line per month before it would be slowed and adds 15GB of high-speed data per line for using your phone as a mobile hotspot. (After 15GB speeds drop to a painfully slow, 2G-like 128 kilobits per second.)

The top plan, Elite, runs $200 a month for four lines ($50 a line). It offers free HBO Max, allows for streaming videos in HD, 100GB of data before you'd be slowed and 30GB of high-speed mobile hotspot data for each line (after which it's slowed at that 2G level). 

AT&T's plans allow for accessing its low-band 5G network that is available nationwide as well as its faster, higher frequency millimeter-wave network (what it calls "5G Plus") that's currently available in parts of 36 cities around the country. Its low-band network currently covers over 205 million people. 

If you have an older plan, even one that is unlimited, you'll be limited to 4G LTE even if you have a 5G device. Oh, and because things are never simple, AT&T calls its 4G LTE network "5G E." Don't be confused: If you see 5G E know that it's not real 5G. 

AT&T 5G

Plan5G included? Price (1 line)Price (4 lines)HotspotPerks
Unlimited Starter Yes$65$140N/AUnlimited in Mexico and Canada
Unlimited Extra Yes$75$16015GB per month, per line50GB of high-speed data per line, unlimited in Mexico and Canada
Unlimited Elite Yes$85$20030GB per month, per line100GB of high-speed data per line, free HBO Max, unlimited in Mexico and Canada

T-Mobile

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T-Mobile offers 5G on all plans, including older ones and those from Sprint. 

Angela Lang/CNET

When it comes to 5G, T-Mobile's story is much simpler. Any plan, including those of Sprint users, will be able to connect to 5G if you have a 5G device. This also includes both unlimited plans and older ones that have monthly data allotments. 

Of T-Mobile's current plans, the cheapest Essentials plan runs $120 a month for four lines ($30 a month). You get unlimited talk, text, data but mobile hotspot is capped at "max 3G speeds" (which has in the past meant a still-weak 512Kbps). 

Unlike some other T-Mobile plans, taxes and fees aren't included here and you also don't get perks like free Netflix , international data outside of Mexico and Canada or HD streaming.

There are two step-up plans as well, known as Magenta and Magenta Plus. The former, which currently runs $140 a month for four lines ($35 a line) includes taxes and fees in the monthly price, 3GB of 4G LTE hotspot data for each line, a free subscription to Netflix Basic (Netflix's cheapest plan that doesn't stream videos in HD) or Quibi, as well as international data in over 210 countries. 

T-Mobile's top-of-the-range Magenta Plus plan runs $172 a month for four lines ($43 a line) with taxes and fees already factored into the price. Other perks include Netflix's Standard plan that has HD streaming or free Quibi, 20GB of 4G LTE hotspot data per line, and slightly faster international data. It also allows you to stream videos in HD over a cellular connection. 

When it comes to the next-generation networks, T-Mobile is actually the furthest along in the US. It was the first to a nationwide 5G network over the low-band spectrum last December, which it recently expanded to now cover 250 million people

After acquiring Sprint's 2.5GHz midband spectrum when it closed its merger this year, the carrier has begun deploying midband 5G across the country, with plans to have thousands of sites upgraded this year.

The carrier also has millimeter-wave 5G, though it has yet to expand this flavor beyond the six cities it launched in 2019

T-Mobile 5G

Plan5G included? Price (1 line)Price (4 lines)HotspotPerks
Essentials  Yes$60$120Unlimited at "3G speeds" Talk, text and 2G data in Canada and Mexico; unlimited texting overseas
Magenta Yes$70$1403GB of high-speed data per month, per line, then unlimited at "max 3G speeds" Taxes and fees included; free Netflix Basic or Quibi subscription (two lines minimum); international talk, text and data included; 5GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada
Magenta Plus Yes$85$17220GB of high-speed data per month, per line then unlimited at "max 3G speeds" Taxes and fees included; free Netflix Standard or Quibi subscription (two lines minimum); international talk, text and data included with data twice as fast as Magenta; HD streaming over cellular; 5GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada

Verizon

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Verizon's full 5G availability is only on some of its top unlimited plans. 

Angela Lang/CNET

Whereas AT&T limits 5G just to its newest unlimited plans and T-Mobile lets any plan tap into 5G, Verizon is somewhere in the middle ground when it comes to plans. 

The company's new nationwide network, which it launched on Tuesday during Apple's iPhone 12 event, will be available to everyone. This includes older unlimited plans and those with monthly data allotments. 

Those who want the full Verizon 5G experience with millimeter-wave, however, will need to have one of the carrier's top unlimited plans known as Do More, Get More or Play More. 

The good news is that Verizon allows you to choose which plan each individual line is on (what it calls "Mix and Match") as opposed to mandating that everyone be on the same plan. For the purposes of keeping the pricing simple, we're going to look at the cost as if each line is the same plan. 

The Start plan offers four lines for $140. While it has low-band 5G, it lacks access to the millimeter-wave network. It also does not offer any mobile hotspot and data in Canada and Mexico is capped at "2G speeds."

The step-up Play More plan would run $180 for four lines. This plan includes both flavors of Verizon 5G as well as: 50GB of high-speed 4G LTE data; 15GB for each line of 4G LTE data for mobile hotspot, HD streaming over a cellular connection and a free subscription to the Disney Bundle that includes Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu. 

The plan also includes unlimited talk, text and data in Canada and Mexico, though data here is all capped at "2G speeds." 

The Do More plan is priced at the same $180 for four lines, with the big difference being the dropping of the Disney Bundle for a discount of 50% the monthly service charge for a connected hotspot, tablet or smartwatch. 

The Get More is a combination of both Play More and Do More, with four lines running $220 a month. It offers all the perks of both plans -- including the discount on a connected device and the Disney Bundle -- but bumps up the 4G LTE hotspot data to 30GB a month, per line. It also offers a free subscription to Apple Music. 

The carrier's older, top unlimited plans -- known as Above Unlimited and Beyond Unlimited -- also include access to both the low-band 5G and millimeter-wave 5G networks. 

Verizon 5G

Plan5G included? Price (1 line)Price (4 lines)HotspotPerks
Start Unlimited Yes, but just low-band$70$140N/ATalk, text and data at 2G speeds in Mexico and Canada
Play More Unlimited Yes$80$18015GB of high-speed data per line, per month then unlimited at slower speedsAccess to faster millimeter-wave 5G network; 50GB data per line, per month of high-speed, 4G LTE data; HD video streaming; Talk, text and data at 2G speeds in Mexico and Canada; Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus included
Do More Unlimited Yes$80$18015GB of high-speed, 4G LTE data per line, per month then unlimited at slower speedsAccess to faster millimeter-wave 5G network; 50GB data per line, per month of high-speed, 4G LTE data; HD video streaming; Talk, text and data at 2G speeds in Mexico and Canada; 50% off the monthly service fee for a connected smartwatch, tablet or hotspot
Get More Unlimited Yes$90$22030GB of high-speed data per line, per month then unlimited at slower speedsAccess to faster millimeter-wave 5G network; 50GB per line, per month of high-speed, 4G LTE data; HD video streaming; Talk, text and data at 2G speeds in Mexico and Canada; 50% off monthly service fee for connected tablet, hotspot or smartwatch; free subscription to Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus; free subscription to Apple Music