Why You Can Trust CNET Verizon Unveils Added Discounts on Home Internet Services for New Wireless Customers
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What's happening
Verizon is trying to attract new customers to its premium 5G wireless plans with perks and discounts on home internet plans, including Fios, 5G Home Internet and LTE Home.
Why it matters
Things are getting competitive out there. T-Mobile announced aggressive new discounts last month and Verizon seems to be countering.
Verizon on Thursday said new customers of its premium 5G unlimited mobile plans will be eligible to save $25 a month on its home broadband offerings, including Fios, 5G Home Internet and LTE Home Internet.
Verizon Fios is the company's fiber-optic broadband service, available only in the Northeast. Three plan options offer three speed tiers with top downloads of 300 megabits per second, 500Mbps or 1 gigabit. Select markets will also see an additional 2-gigabit plan.
Verizon 5G Home Internet is a fixed wireless internet service that uses the company's 5G network and is available nationwide to over 30 million customers. It averages 300Mbps download speed and, in some locations, can get close to gigabit speed.
Locating local internet providers
Finally, the company's LTE Home Internet is another fixed wireless internet option for areas where none of the other Verizon broadband products are available. Its maximum download speed is a much more modest 50Mbps.
The discount requires new subscribers to enroll in autopay and sign up for one of the company's eligible 5G premium wireless plans: 5G Start, 5G Play More, 5G Do More, 5G Get More Unlimited and select 5G Mix and Match mobile plans.
Locating local internet providers
The company already had a discount where select unlimited mobile plans could qualify customers for $25 off Verizon 5G Home Internet. So the news here is the addition of its highly rated fiber service, Verizon Fios. If customers use the discount on the Verizon Fios 300 plan or the Verizon 5G Home Internet plan, they could get internet service for $25 a month.
New customers to Verizon Fios who subscribe to the eligible 5G mobile plans will get their router rental included in the monthly rate (a savings of $15 per month). Previously, only gigabit and 2-gigabit customers received the complimentary router rental. Additionally, Fios customers under this new discount plan will receive price guarantees -- two years for the 300 plan, three years for the 500 plan, and a four-year guarantee for the 1- and 2-gig options.
To get all the above Fios discounts, new customers must also enroll in the company's Fios Mobile + Home discount program. Also, current Mobile + Home customers will not automatically be migrated over to these new discounts. Instead, they need to opt in to the new program via the My Verizon App or go to the savings and promotion center through My Verizon Online.
In a press release announcing these moves, Verizon encouraged new customers to "ditch cable" and try out its services. It's similar to T-Mobile's "Internet Freedom" campaign, which launched last month. In both cases, the companies hope to hook new customers by going outside the box of traditional cable internet company approaches.