As U.S. carriers either launch their 5G networks or get ready to roll them out, we're starting to get an idea of what it's going to cost to connect to that 5G coverage. Today AT&T's CEO talked a bit about what he thinks 5G pricing might look like.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has suggested that mobile 5G prices could end up being like traditional home broadband pricing. As noted by The Verge, Stephenson was on AT&T's earnings call today and said, "I will be very surprised if, as we move into wireless, the pricing regime in wireless doesn’t look something like the pricing regime you see in fixed line."
The exec went on to explain that if you can offer speeds up to 1Gbps, some customers would be willing to pay a premium for those faster speeds while others may prefer to pay slightly less for slower speeds. "If you can offer a gig speed, there are some customers that are willing to pay a premium for 500 meg to a gig speed, and so forth. So I expect that to be the case. We’re two to three years away from seeing that play out," Stephenson explained.
Right now, AT&T doesn't offer any smartphones that run on its mobile 5G network. It does have a mobile hotspot that's available to select customers with 15GB of 5G data usage for $70 per month. Meanwhile, Verizon charges $10 extra per month for 5G smartphone access, and T-Mobile has said that its 5G pricing will be the same as its 4G prices. 5G is still in its early days, though, and so as carriers continue to roll out their 5G coverage and get an idea of how consumers use it and what they'll pay, we could see the operators adjust their 5G pricing accordingly.
What do you think of Stephenson's idea? Would you pay a premium for the fastest 5G connection on your phone?
