We’ve been hearing a lot about 5G over the past few months. There have been countless TV commercials, a couple of lawsuits, and several much-publicized rollouts. Even the president has a take (we should be on to 6G by now). What’s changed today is scale: independent and industry reporting shows 5G subscriptions surpassed two billion globally and continue to grow, with fixed wireless access (FWA) emerging as a major 5G use case (Ericsson Mobility Report).
And 5G, or “fifth generation” cellular technology, is worthy of the hype. It delivers faster speeds and lower latency than 4G, particularly on mid‑band spectrum, and supports many more devices. Networks are progressing toward 5G Standalone and the first phase of 5G‑Advanced features that enhance capacity, energy efficiency, positioning, and IoT support (3GPP Release 18: 5G‑Advanced). Independent measurements consistently find 5G median downloads multiple times faster than 4G in mature deployments, with noticeable latency improvements (Opensignal).
So far, most of the 5G talk has centered around mobile. But 5G home internet, or Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), has the potential to be just as game-changing. While most U.S. households still have access to cable internet, nationwide carriers now market 5G home internet widely: T‑Mobile says Home Internet is “available to over 50 million homes,” with simple pricing and no data caps (T‑Mobile Home Internet); Verizon sells two 5G Home tiers with address‑level qualification and no data caps (Verizon 5G Home Internet); and AT&T’s Internet Air (4G/5G) is expanding in select markets as a replacement for legacy copper (AT&T Internet Air). Typical mid‑band 5G FWA performance often lands in the ~100–300 Mbps download range (higher peaks possible), with uploads commonly in the 10–40 Mbps range depending on spectrum and local load (Verizon; Ookla FWA analysis). As Ira Brodsky, president of Datacomm Research, told us, “It’s more of a question of when, than if.”
With such a monumental disruption underway, we examined the most consequential ripple effects for consumers. Here are our five predictions for 5G home internet, grounded in current data and market trends.
1. 5G won’t replace cable internet anytime soon
5G FWA has scaled rapidly, but it isn’t a universal substitute for wired broadband. Carriers manage capacity by gating sign‑ups at the sector level; eligibility is address‑specific even inside covered neighborhoods (T‑Mobile; Verizon). Independent testing shows FWA downloads in many markets are cable‑competitive, but uploads and latency under heavy load can vary by spectrum depth, backhaul, and site density (Ookla 2024). In very high‑usage homes (multiple 4K streams, large game downloads), cable and fiber can still offer higher, more consistent throughput. Meanwhile, FWA has been the primary growth engine for U.S. broadband net adds across 2023–2024, but that growth reflects substitution and targeted capacity—not blanket replacement of wireline (Leichtman Research Group).
Bill Stone, Verizon’s VP of technology planning, echoed those comments at NYU’s Brooklyn 5G Summit in late April: “This is early days. We’re at the beginning. We need to continue to develop and improve the technology, and there are no shortcuts to doing this right.” That perspective still applies as mid‑band rollouts widen coverage and performance matures.
Currently, Verizon 5G Home is marketed in select areas nationwide with two tiers (5G Home and 5G Home Plus) and an address checker that reflects capacity‑based availability (Verizon). T‑Mobile publicly cites availability to 50M+ homes for its Home Internet (T‑Mobile), and AT&T’s Internet Air (4G/5G) is expanding in targeted markets with a self‑install gateway (AT&T).
For its part, Verizon has maintained that 5G mobile and home will go hand in hand. “It is one network, based on 5G, supporting multiple use cases,” Verizon’s VP of technology planning, Adam Koeppe told PC Mag. “Enterprise, small/medium business, consumer, mobility, fixed. When the 5G network is built, you have a fixed and mobile play that’s basically native to the deployment you’re doing.”
2. Say goodbye to the cable TV bundle
While the cable TV bundle’s decline has been underway for years, 5G home internet is now a meaningful accelerant. Industry tracking shows U.S. pay‑TV providers shed roughly 1.5–2.0 million subscribers in Q2 2025 alone, leaving the traditional base in the mid‑60‑million range (Leichtman Research Group). Meanwhile, Nielsen’s The Gauge shows streaming at roughly 40% of total TV usage in late 2025, with cable below 30% (Nielsen The Gauge). As households switch broadband from cable to 5G FWA (millions now subscribe), the economic logic of legacy “triple‑play” bundles weakens further.
We’re already living in a streaming world; 5G will only cement that. Cable TV’s greatest remaining appeal is often the savings from bundling TV and internet. But with competitive, no‑contract 5G home internet commonly priced around $50–$60 per month — and deeper discounts with eligible mobile plans — consumers are freer to get TV service from live TV streaming, on-demand services like Netflix and Hulu, or the myriad of free streaming sites. See current home‑internet pricing and eligibility details from carriers (T‑Mobile; Verizon; AT&T).
“The wireless operators don’t have these relationships with the TV providers,” Brodsky explained. “They’re basically offering internet streaming TV and they’re letting the Hulus and Netflixes and the like provide the channel lineup.” You can see this in today’s bundles: wireless carriers increasingly package or discount streaming services with mobile and home internet (e.g., Verizon’s myPlan offers a “Netflix & Max” add‑on at a discounted rate; Verizon myPlan), and many offer limited‑time trials for YouTube TV.
3. 5G won’t fix the rural digital divide
High-speed internet access in rural areas remains a well-documented challenge. While official reports track ongoing progress (Broadband Progress Report), recent independent U.S. measurements show rural users still experience lower 5G availability and notably lower download speeds than urban users, despite year‑over‑year improvements as mid‑band expands (Opensignal January 2025). Globally, the ITU reports a persistent rural usage gap even where mobile broadband coverage exists, underscoring affordability and skills barriers (ITU Facts and Figures 2024). In the EU, the European Commission’s latest benchmarking shows around 81% of households have 5G availability overall, but only about half of rural households are covered (2023 baseline, published Oct 2024; European Commission).
Unfortunately, 5G alone is unlikely to solve this problem. Sure, T-Mobile claimed that, along with Sprint, its new “5G network will cover 96% of rural Americans.” But real‑world FWA eligibility is address‑specific and capacity‑gated; even in covered areas an address may be ineligible until a sector has headroom (T‑Mobile Home Internet; Verizon 5G Home). Providers also have a history of failing to live up to their promises in rural and impoverished urban markets, and early maps/claims have often overstated reality. In the U.S., the FCC’s multi‑billion‑dollar 5G Fund for Rural America is the primary mobile‑focused mechanism to extend 5G into unserved rural areas and complements wireline‑oriented programs that can improve mobile backhaul.
5G technology just doesn’t make much sense for very remote areas. “We’re talking about a very low home density and large coverage areas,” Brodsky said. “It’s not going to be as likely to compete with cable in terms of capacity. There would be lower speeds and it would be more expensive.”
Verizon has admitted as much: “Our deployments of millimeter wave are focused on urban centers. It’s where the people are, where the consumption is,” Verizon VP Adam Koeppe said. Rural expansions will lean more on low‑/mid‑band spectrum and targeted subsidies like the FCC 5G Fund to reach less dense areas.
4. Mobile and home internet bundles will be the norm
TV and internet bundles might be going extinct, but savings haven’t. Wireless carriers discount home internet when you also have an eligible mobile plan — typically by about $20–$25/month with AutoPay and plan‑tier requirements. Examples: Verizon markets 5G Home “as low as $35/month” with select 5G mobile plans (higher standalone pricing; eligibility and taxes/fees apply; Verizon 5G Home Internet); T‑Mobile offers Home Internet for $30/month with Go5G or Magenta MAX (otherwise $50 with AutoPay; taxes/fees often included; T‑Mobile Home Internet); AT&T discounts Internet Air to $35/month with an eligible wireless plan (otherwise $55; AT&T Internet Air). Cable operators mirror the strategy in reverse: their mobile plans are generally available only if you maintain home internet (e.g., Xfinity Mobile; Spectrum Mobile).
5. Cell phones will be the exclusive way many people access the internet
As 5G becomes more prevalent — and bundled offers make mobile‑centric connectivity cheaper — a durable share of people rely on smartphones as their only internet access. In recent U.S. surveys, about one‑in‑five adults are “smartphone‑only” internet users (own a smartphone but lack home broadband), a share that has risen steadily over the past decade (Pew Research Center). Household data from the U.S. Census Bureau show a meaningful national share reporting cellular data but no fixed broadband (“cellular‑only”), reinforcing the trend (ACS S2801). The lapse of the Affordable Connectivity Program removed a key subsidy for 23M+ enrolled households, likely nudging some toward mobile‑only strategies (FCC ACP). An older projection in one report from CNBC anticipated very high mobile‑only reliance by 2025; current readings suggest a steady rise but not a wholesale replacement of fixed service.
This phenomenon is already happening in many areas without 5G. “I looked a while back at what’s going on in Mexico, and I saw that a lot of young people were buying a smartphone instead of a PC, instead of buying cable TV — they’re doing it all on their smartphones,” Brodsky told us. “So there could be users, especially young people, who are much more cost-conscious who could use that advanced spectrum as a way of doing three services as one device.”
5G FAQ
Why haven’t we already been using 4G wireless internet in our homes?
In a word: capacity. As Ira Brodsky, president of Datacomm Research, told us, 4G networks were built for on‑the‑go usage. Replacing a household’s fixed connection — with many hours of HD/4K streaming, large game downloads, and multiple devices — strains 4G sector capacity and economics. Typical homes now consume hundreds of gigabytes per month, which made 4G home internet uneconomical at scale. With mid‑band 5G’s higher capacity and with carriers managing sign‑ups by sector, providers can market home internet with no traditional data caps (usage still subject to network management policies and deprioritization where applicable; see T‑Mobile Home Internet; Verizon 5G Home).
Internet providers can’t be competitive with 4G home internet because its cell sites can’t provide the 190 GB per month that most homes currently eat up. With 5G’s ability to handle massive capacities of data, carriers will be able to offer 5G home internet that’s truly unlimited. As Verizon states clearly on its site, “Any device connected to your 5G Home Wi‑Fi network will enjoy unlimited data usage.”
How much will 5G home internet cost?
Verizon markets two tiers: 5G Home (standard pricing around $60/month, or $50 with select mobile plans and Auto Pay) and 5G Home Plus (around $80/month, or $70 with select mobile plans). Equipment is included and there are no annual contracts (Verizon 5G Home Internet). T‑Mobile prices Home Internet at $50/month with AutoPay, or $30/month when bundled with eligible Go5G/Magenta MAX mobile plans (T‑Mobile Home Internet). AT&T Internet Air is $55/month standalone or $35/month with an eligible AT&T wireless plan (AT&T Internet Air). Typical FWA downloads often range from roughly 100–300 Mbps depending on location, spectrum, and local load (Ookla 2024), broadly competitive with many cable tiers; industry trackers show FWA has driven the majority of U.S. broadband net adds in 2023–2024 (Leichtman Research Group).
Is 5G dangerous?
Because 5G uses both sub‑6 GHz and, in some deployments, millimeter wave bands, questions often focus on exposure. International guidelines from ICNIRP and IEEE set conservative limits to prevent established effects (primarily heating), and many national regulators align with these limits (ICNIRP). Major health agencies — including the WHO, UKHSA, ARPANSA, and the U.S. FDA — conclude that, at exposure levels below these limits, no adverse health effects from RF fields used by mobile technologies have been established. Real‑world measurements near 4G/5G base stations typically find public exposures are a small fraction of the allowable levels, even in busy urban locations (Ofcom EMF measurements).
Because 5G uses millimeter wave frequencies for its lightning fast speeds — 30 to 300 Ghz compared to about 700 Mhz for 4G LTE — there is some concern that the higher frequency used could pose health risks. Radiofrequency (RF) radiation has been a concern for as long as cell phones have been around. Neither the EPA or the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) have classified RF radiation as cancer-causing, and the FDA notes that current safety limits for cell phones remain acceptable for protecting public health. However, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified RF radiation as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
In reference to its current stance on RF radiation and 5G, an FDA spokesperson told Digital Trends that it “continues to believe that the current safety limits for cellphone radiofrequency energy exposure remain acceptable for protecting the public health,” but also noted that “the limits are based on the frequency of the device, meaning that 5G has a different limit than other technologies.” More research needs to be done on millimeter wave radiation specifically, but for now, there’s no evidence. For context, the U.S. National Toxicology Program reported certain tumor findings in rats at very high whole‑body exposures that exceeded human limits and produced heating; regulators consider these results in risk assessments but note conditions differ from typical human use (NTP).
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