The January 19 launch of 5G on its C-Band spectrum will bring fast wireless speeds to 100 million people in the US, far out of the reach of its millimeter-wave spectrum that provides even faster 5G speeds. There is a monthly data cap for people with unlimited 5G hotspot data on the millimeter-wave network.
Customers of the "Beyond unlimited" plan have 15GB of hotspot data and unlimited "5G Ultra Wideband" hotspot data. The C-Band and millimeter-wave spectrum will be included in what is called Ultra Wideband, and those who currently have it will no longer get unlimited data. Beyond unlimited plan subscribers will get a total of 15GB of high-speed hotspot data regardless of which network slice they're using and will face hotspot data slowdowns after using that up.
It's not a big deal for many people because the 5G spectrum has limited geographic availability to begin with, and the unlimited hotspot data only applies to the use of that spectrum. It's always good to be aware of changes, and it might be a good idea for some people to switch to newer plans with more flexibility.
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3Mbps speeds after the limit is reached.
Ars was the first to confirm the new limit on the Beyond unlimited plan. "Beyond unlimited has 15 gigabytes of mobile hotspot." After that allowance is used, those customers will receive unlimited mobile hotspot data speeds of 3Mbps when on 5G Ultra Wideband and 600kbps when on 5G Nationwide 4G. 5G deployment on spectrum previously used for 4G and on any other spectrum besides millimeter-wave and C- Band is included in the "5G Nationwide/4G LTE" from the company. You have to be in a C-Band or millimeter-wave area to get 3Mbps.
Beyond unlimited is not the only package affected by the change. People on plans with 5G Ultra Wideband mobile hotspot will transition to having an allowance based on their plan, according to the company. All 4G and 5G hotspot usage will be applied to whatever limit you have on it, without any separate allowance for millimeter-wave usage.
90–170Mbps speeds are promised by the company.
The C-Band roll out will reach over 100 million people in more than 1,700 US cities, with average download speeds of 90–170Mbps, with higher speeds and peaks over 1Gbps in certain areas.
The C-Band spectrum will be rolled out this year between 3.7 GHz and 3.8 GHz, and carriers plan to use the rest of their C- Band frequencies in the years to come. The C-Band deployment by AT&T and Verizon was delayed due to a dispute with the FAA, and the C-Band will be limited near major airports for six months.
