The first 5G wireless networks are starting to come online, and the first 5G-capable smartphones are starting to hit the market. Now Verizon is also launching its first 5G mobile hotspot which you can use to connect a laptop, tablet, or other devices to Verizon’s high-speed cellular network.

It comes at a cost though — the Verizon Inseego 5G MiFi M1000 doesn’t just have a catchy name, it’s also a rather expensive option, with the hotspot selling for $650.

Verizon says you can spread that cost out by making 24 monthly payments of $27.08 each. Or you can sign a 2-year contract to bring the price down to $500.

But those prices don’t even include the cost of a data plan.

Verizon customers who sign up for a connected device-only plan (without a smartphone) will have to shell out at least $85 per month, while customers with a Verizon Unlimited smartphone plan can add a 5G MiFi to their account and get 50GB of 5G data plus 15GB of 4G LTE data for an extra $30.

In both cases, that’s $10/month more than you’d pay for a 4G LTE version.

unlimited Smartphone plan can add a 5G MiFi to their plan and get 50GB of 5G data plus 15GB of 4G LTE data for an additional $30.

I’m still not convinced it makes sense for most folks to buy 5G phones, hotspots, or other hardware this year. You end up spending more money on hardware and service for the ability to access a faster, lower-latency network. But 4G LTE is plenty fast enough for most of the things we use mobile devices for today.

Verizon highlights support for next-gen experiences like streaming 8K video with no buffering or using virtual reality and augmented reality. But I suspect those are things few of us really need to do over a mobile network.

press release

 

 

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9 replies on “Verizon’s first 5G MiFi mobile hotspot costs $650 (data not included)”

  1. The joke is that without net neutrality 5G is pointless anyway. Verizon already throttles content and services at their leisure including downsampling video on mobile LTE and they will absolutely do the same on 5G. I find it hilarious that they are marketing 8k video when they won’t even allow 1080p YouTube or Netflix on 4G LTE.

  2. I agree with the article and the comments in that 5G isn’t gong to be a a must have/willing to pay more for thing for the majority of consumers.

    An additional issue is that for 5G that uses mm wave signals, they won’t penetrate into buildings well or at all. Due to mm wave signals neither being able to travel far nor penetrate through walls well, there needs to be significantly more “micro cells” relaying the signals which is a major infrastructure problem. I recall wireless companies touting that trash cans, street lights, tables, chairs, etc. will be micro cell “towers” in the 5G world. That certainly wasn’t a positive spin in my mind.

    1. Also, 5G using lower frequencies (ie. around the same range as LTE), the speeds won’t be much better than LTE.

      Seems like the hype for 5G is solely being generated by the people selling 5G tech.

  3. The 5G motomod has a snapdragon 855 in it, even though the phones can’t use it, because that was apparently the only way to get the 5g modem. Given this pricetag, I can’t help but wonder if there’s an unusable soc inside this thing as well.

  4. So… 8k streaming with a 50 gig data cap? Projected 8k streaming data usage is roughly 10MB/S so you can blow through that cap in less than an hour and a half. Fun.

  5. A fool and his money…
    Just wait until Elon Musk or Amazon get their satellite intranet service working. All these mobile hotspots will become e-waste.

  6. >Streaming 8K video
    >7680 × 4320

    OK, nobody really wants to hear me say “Oh lawdy, my TV is too old for this,” but I think a lot of people are in this category.

    My highest resolution screen is a 3000×1400 px screen. It has 500 pixels per inch, so I couldn’t really tell 1080p (250 pixels per inch) from 4k+ (500 pixels per inch) from 8k (downscaled to 500 pixels per inch) unless I use my handy chin-mounted phone holder. This is a portable screen that could potentially benefit from a 5G connection.

    If I spent $3000 on a TV or monitor I could display an 8K video…. if I find a good sale. That makes a $600 hot spot and data plan cheap… But when the heck would I have that TV away from land-line-sourced WiFi?

    Edit: Brad, ‘Edit Comment’ works now.

Comments are closed.