Verizon announced this morning that it is turning on its 5G ultra wideband service in Chicago and Minneapolis. Customers in these two cities should see download speeds of up to 1 Gbps, but only once they upgrade to a 5G smartphone.
As expected, Verizon’s 5G service will be heavily concentrated in the two launch cities. In Chicago, the service is available throughout the West Loop and the South Loop in addition to the Verizon store on The Magnificent Mile and throughout The Gold Coast, Old Town, and River North.
Minneapolis customers will have access to the 5G network in the Downtown area, around the U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis Convention Center, the Minneapolis Central Library, the Mill City Museum, Target Center and First Avenue venues, The Commons, areas of Elliot Park, and in the Verizon store in The Mall of America.
Verizon has previously stated that it plans to roll out its 5G network to 19 cities across the U.S. As this expansion happens, the carrier will likely increase the availability of its network throughout Chicago and Minneapolis.
Verizon customers with any unlimited plan, including Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited, or Above Unlimited plan can hop onto the 5G network for free for the first three months. After that, the carrier will charge an additional $10 on top of your normal monthly bill.
5G Moto Mod available today
As a part of this announcement, Verizon has kicked off sales of the 5G Moto Mod. The add-on accessory retails for $349.99 but is currently on sale for $199.99.
Verizon does require that customers have a Moto Z3 on their account before they will sell them the 5G Moto Mod. If you don’t have the handset already, you can pick it up for $10 a month for 24 months.
Click on the button below to grab the 5G Moto Mod directly from Verizon.