I have been using 5G home internet for years. Close is the cable gap and it only gets better

I have spent years covering the wireless and home broadband companies and a significant amount of time studying and testing different networks. In the age of 5G, these two worlds have also intersected for regular users in 2025. it’s a great thing that finally brings some much needed legal alternatives and competition.

After spending the last few months living with several different 5G home internet products, it’s clear that they can compete with traditional broadband for most everyday tasks. It may not be faster than a multi-core fiber connection, but it can certainly be more than enough for most people.

Know the players

On its website, AT&T promises download speeds between 90 and 300Mbps (higher is better) for its 5G home broadband service (which it calls AT&T Internet Air), with uploads between 8 and 30Mbps. The carrier says typical service latency or responsiveness is between 30-65ms (lower is better).

T-Mobile promises similar metrics with its base T-Mobile Home Internet A service that uses a less powerful modem (what it calls home internet reliance). According to the FCC’s broadband facts listed in its WebsiteUsers of Resely’s basic version can expect download speeds between 87 and 318Mbps, uploads between 14 and 56Mbps and latency between 18 and 36ms.

Stepping up to the higher-priced Enhanced plan with the better modem promises faster average downloads between 133 and 415Mbps and more responsive latency between 16 and 28ms. Those speeds are similar to those of its most valuable all-in plan, which has the same modem but throws in a few extra frills, like Wi-Fi access and subscriptions to Hulu (with ads) and Paramount plus a substantial extra 10 dollars per month.

Speeds for Verizon 5G Home Internet are more difficult to understand because the carrier does not make them readily available on its website. Instead, its FAQ encourages people to plug in their addresses to see what options are available in their areas. In one place I looked in New York state, download speeds were listed as between 50 and 85Mbps on its basic 5G home plan, with uploads between 5 and 10Mbps and latency between 37 and 57ms.

The arrival of a more valuable 5G Home Plus plan for an extra $20 per month resulted in download speeds between 85 and 250Mbps and upload speeds between 10 and 20Mbps, according to Broadband Facts.

T-Mobile and Verizon include taxes and fees in their respective sticker prices, but AT&T does not. All three carriers offer discounts if you bundle home Internet with some of their wireless plans and sign up for things like automatic payments, which could lower prices even more.

For most users, lower speeds should be more than subtle

The above speeds can be significantly lower than a comparable plan from a local cable company or fiber provider, depending on where you live.

T-Mobile’s home internet offering without wireless service runs $55 a month, which to me is more valuable in New York than receiving Spectrumwhich is $50 in my apartment building with “typical” download speeds of 551Mbps, upload speeds of 21Mbps and latency of 20ms.

Promotional pricing will knock it down even cheaper, down to $40 per month for a year. This is all good news.

As 5G networks continue to develop and mature, speeds should only improve and competition should continue to increase. For the past few months, I’ve been testing and switching between T-Mobile’s base router (which I’ve used for years), its newer router that’s included in its pricing plans, and AT&T’s internet air in New York.

All three easily handled the many tasks that I, my friends, and my roommates threw at it: from multiple people doing video calls and streaming at the same time, to streaming 4K Netflix, watching multiple games at once on YouTube TV, and online gaming AND PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. all three, just like my previous tests with Verizon’s 5G home And even millimeter wave options from companies like Honest Networks have handled these tasks just fine.

This is to be expected. Many of the popular services we rely on today are optimized to work on different types of networks and don’t need gigabit connections. Want to stream Netflix in 4K? They recommend a download speed of Only 15Mbps. Want to zoom in? A group call needs 4Mbps, while 1080p one-to-one does 3.8Mbps download and 3Mbps upload.

Looking to watch YouTube TV? You only need 13Mbps to stream in HD and 25Mbps for 4K viewing. Xbox Cloud Gaming or Sony’s Game Streaming with PlayStation Plus? Microsoft recommends a minimum speed of 20Mbps for consoles, tablets or PCs For his service while Sony needs a minimum of 5Mbps to work (and recommends at least 15Mbps for 1080p streaming).

You don’t want to be the bare minimum for an optimal experience, and if you’re running more intensive tasks (especially something that requires regular downloads or uploads of large files), a cable or fiber connection is almost certainly still the better option. But assuming you have decent coverage where you live, 5G can be a very capable alternative.

Is it perfect? No, but it gets better

Yes, there are random moments 5G home internet Where things I’ve had with regular cable and fiber internet providers don’t seem to work. But in my last few months these were few and far between and often resolved both on their own and in moments. It was so fast I didn’t even have time to check if it was a connection problem with the modem or something wrong with my router or the app and device I was using.

When running various speed and download tests, I also noticed that the newer T-Mobile gear performed better than the original Nokia Gateway, which I have used since the service was launched years ago. Downloading games like Marvel Rivals on My Xbox Series X was significantly faster using T-Mobile’s newer gateway, with speeds exceeding 700Mbps. I also enjoyed playing online games like NBA 2K on the newer gateway as its connection seemed consistently weirder.

This leads to the best part: Wireless providers are not only constantly working to improve their 5G networks, but they should also have better 5G gateways rolling out this year.

T-Mobile told me last year That it will launch a new modem in 2025 that will not only be able to double as a Wi-Fi 7 router, but should be able to take advantage of more advanced network radios to work faster and more -efficiently on its 5G network. AT&T is Likewise working on new home internet gateways.

And as cable companies respond by improving their speeds, performance and offerings—which we’ve seen with a recent emphasis on multi-gigabit offerings and faster base tiers—5G providers will have to respond in kind.

When added together, it means you can now Call your regular provider and give them a real threat to switch to If they can’t lower your bill or improve your service.