Skip to main content

Xfinity Mobile adds 5G to its networks — for free

Xfinity Mobile says 5G is coming to its cell service plans, at no extra cost. Starting Monday, people who subscribe to the service will have access to the faster network, regardless of what plan they’re on — with some caveats.

Xfinity Mobile, which leverages Verizon’s network for its service, has two types of plans, both only available to Comcast customers. You can either pay by the gig for data (1 GB for $15, 3 GB for $30, or 10 GB for $60 per month) or get unlimited data for $45 per month per line. All plans now come with 5G access.

While the potential of 5G is enormous, it’s not ubiquitous. Xfinity said its 5G service is currently available in 34 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Spokane, St. Paul, and Washington, D.C. Not all phones will work with 5G, either — you’ll need a 5G-capable phone to take advantage of it. Earlier this year, Xfinity Mobile started selling the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G and Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, both of which will work with the network’s new service. The company said it will add more devices in the future.

Verizon currently plans to charge its own subscribers $10 a month for access to the same 5G network Xfinity Mobile customers will now get for free. It has been waiving this fee as it expands the network, and as people wait to see the blazing-fast speeds that they’ve heard so much about.

Xfinity hasn’t released the full list of cities where you’ll be able to access Xfinity Mobile’s 5G network, but there are currently 34 cities in Verizon’s 5G plan. Those cities include:

  • Atlanta, Georg.
  • Boise, Idaho
  • Boston, Mass.
  • Charlotte, NC
  • Chicago, Ill.
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Cleveland, Ohio
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Denver, Colo.
  • Des Moines, Iowa
  • Detroit, Mich.
  • Grand Rapids, Mich.
  • Greensboro, N.C.
  • Hampton Roads, Va.
  • Hoboken, N.J.
  • Houston, Texas
  • Indianapolis, Ind.
  • Kansas City, Mo.
  • Little Rock, Ark.
  • Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Memphis, Tenn.
  • Miami, Fla.
  • Minneapolis, Minn.
  • New York, N.Y.
  • Omaha, Neb.
  • Panama City, Fla.
  • Phoenix, Ariz.
  • Providence, R.I.
  • Salt Lake City, Utah
  • St. Paul, Minn.
  • Sioux Falls, S.D.
  • Spokane, Wash.
  • Washington, D.C.

This story has been updated to reflect that Xfinity Mobile is currently available in 34 cities.

Editors' Recommendations

Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
Your next phone could get a huge 5G upgrade, thanks to AI
Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 Modem-RF chip.

It’s that time of year again when Qualcomm ushers in its next generation of 5G modem technology. Announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC ) 2024, this year’s Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF system is the successor to last year’s Snapdragon X75, and it builds on the 5G Advanced foundation laid last year with more raw power and new AI features.

While the Snapdragon X75 moved the needle by adding support for the latest 5G Advanced standards, we’re still in that fourth phase of 5G technology, otherwise known as 3GPP Release 18 — and most carrier networks are still catching up. So, with no new standards to embrace, Qualcomm has focused on improving the inside of the Snapdragon X80 to take even fuller advantage of these cutting-edge 5G technologies.
The magic of AI-powered 5G

Read more
This tiny dongle will change 5G connectivity forever
TCL Linkkey IK511 5G Dongle against a blue background.

TCL is having a busy start to 2024. First, it announced a staggering number of new smartphones and two new tablets at CES, and now it’s unveiling something else at MWC 2024 — one of the world’s first 5G dongles that takes advantage of the latest power-efficient 5G standards.

TCL Mobile’s Linkkey IK511 is a pocketable new 5G adapter that’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF system, which debuted last year as the first 5G modem to support the new NR-Light “RedCap” standard.
5G for everyone, everything, everywhere
TCL Linkkey IK511 TCL

Read more
Were you affected by the AT&T outage? You may get some free money
A photo of the AT&T logo on a building.

Last Thursday was a bad day for AT&T. Early in the morning on February 22, AT&T's network went down for thousands of people across the U.S.. The network was offline for hours and outage reports on Down Detector peaked at nearly 75,000. It was eventually fixed, but the damage was still done. Thankfully, if you were among the many people impacted by the outage, we have some good news for you.

On February 24, AT&T published a page on its website called "Making it right." In short, if your AT&T service was down and you were affected by it, you're getting a discount on your next bill. The AT&T page reads as follows:

Read more