Verizon's 5G plans include an 11–13% premium over LTE
On April 3, 2019, Verizon launched its 5G service. Users could only buy Motorola's Moto Z3 phone (with 5G Moto Mod magnetic attachment). Verizon did not launch new plans with the 5G launch. Rather, it added a $10 premium to existing "unlimited" plans, which cost $75, $85, or $95 per month without the 5G premium: These existing plans are not TUD plans but have fair usage limitations (e.g., data caps, throttling).The $10 premium kicks in after three months (the initial months are free). The 5G premium means two things for consumers:
Consumers do not get any new 5G-enabled digital services (AR, VR, etc.). Nor were any new differentiators added to the bundles. On April 25, 2019, Verizon announced a promotion for those taking the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and a plan. It waived the $10-per-month premium for a "limited time." When the premium does apply, it will only be charged on the $85 and $95 plans. The deal comes amid reports of limited 5G hotspot coverage and inconsistent 5G speeds.
Official published rate card for Korean 5G operators; only KT includes TUD
On March 31, 2019, all three Korean operators – SKT, KT, and LGU+ – unveiled 5G postpaid plans (handsets did not hit the stores until April 11). Plans start with data allowances as low as 8–9GB, most likely a government (which is pro-consumer) prerequisite. Initially, KT was the only telco to announce TUD, despite all operators having true unlimited data plans for 4G (these plans were announced in 2018).
To start with, SKT and LGU+ announced 5G plans including data buckets of (respectively) 150GB, 200GB, and 300GB 150GB, 200GB, and 250GB. All three operators now market 5G TUD plans, but there are conditions and promotions attached.
Entry-level 5G plans are cheaper than 4G plans in Korea
The 5G TUD plans of SKT and LGU+ are available until the end of June. KT's have no time restrictions.Rate-card prices exclude contract plan and family discounts. In Korea, customers can choose a device subsidy or a 25% plan discount for taking one-to-two-year contracts. The 25% discount policy of the government has existed since 2014; it is the same for 4G or 5G plans. In addition, each telco provides its own family discount. KT is providing the highest discount (25%). The family discount is not restricted to 5G; the same discount scheme (e.g., KT's Premium Family Bundle 25% discount) is applicable to both 4G and 5G. In reality then, a KT 5G Super Plan Premium subscriber can pay KRW65,000 per month rather than the advertised KRW130,000. Of course, discounts up to 50% off the rate-card price are also available for 4G plans. If we compare KT's and SKT's TUD entry-level 5G plans with their TUD ones for 4G, then 5G plans are cheaper (see chart). But premium TUD 5G plans are 30% and 40% respectively more expensive than the next-cheapest TUD 5G plans.
For its part, LGU+ is offering 4G and 5G TUD plans for the same rate-card price (because of 5G discounts).
Swisscom keeps speed tiers and true unlimited data for 5G
In February 2019 Swisscom unveiled three "5G-ready" plans, replacing its main smartphone plans. Two of the three plans include TUD, and tiers are defined by speed: 50Mbps, 100Mbps, and up to 1Gbps. Previous speed tiers on TUD plans were much lower, for example, 5Mbps and 30Mbps. For CHF10 per month, speed can be increased "up to 1Gbps" on the two lower-end plans. Swisscom did not add new 5G-enabled digital services to these plans.
