If you've been hoping for cheap, unlimited data on new 5G networks, well ... hope is a good thing to have. But if South Korea is any indication, savings will be in short supply.
Three carriers in South Korea, which are running at about the same pace as US carriers, are rolling out 5G now. The leader, SKT, will sell 8GB for $48.46/month; 150GB for $66.08; 200GB for $83.70; and 300GB for $110.13. SKT's prices are slightly less than it charges for the same amount of data on its 4G network, the carrier said.
Prices are pretty similar on second-place KT and third-place LG Uplus, although there are some time-limited discounts out there. LG Uplus, for instance, is offering 250GB for $58.15 until June.
All three carriers' plans will go on sale April 5 for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone, which is coming to the US a little later this spring.
Whether these prices are good or bad depends on whether you're a consumer or a market analyst. In a Mobile World Live report, an analyst from CCS Insight sounded a little disappointed that the carriers couldn't charge more for a faster service than 4G. But of course we're all tired of what we perceive to be high wireless service prices in the US, especially compared to Europe, and as consumers we're hoping for relief with 5G.
SK Telecom says it's ready to go with 34,000 5G-capable base stations in "traffic concentrated areas" of 85 cities, including university campuses, train stations, and sports stadiums. The carrier says it can combine 4G and 5G for download speeds up to 2.7Gbps.
Korean 5G users will get VR and AR versions of League of Legends e-sports tournaments (a big deal in the region), as well as 4K streamable K-dramas and VR versions of K-pop hits. It's all very Korean, but it gives you an idea of the content carriers will try to use to drive people to 5G. Here in the US, Sprint has made a deal with game-streaming service Hatch for high-quality games on its LG V50 5G phones.
US carriers, for now, are about on par with the Korean plans. Verizon is promising unlimited 5G data for $10 more than its existing unlimited plans, at $85-$105/month. AT&T is offering 15GB of data on its 5G Netgear hotspot for $70/month. T-Mobile has said its 5G plans will not be more expensive than existing 4G plans, but not that they'll be cheaper. Sprint hasn't said anything about service plans.
We're tracking all of the US carriers' 5G leaps forward with our Race to 5G feature. April is going to see competition heating up, with Verizon pledging to launch its first consumer 5G phone this month (the Moto Z3) with service in Chicago and Minneapolis, and AT&T making moves towards wider availability of its Netgear Nighhawk 5G hotspot.
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