Verizon launches new home internet service in Springfield and two other rural markets

Home internet consumers in Springfield now have another working option alongside existing services like Mediacom and AT&T.

Thursday morning, Verizon began to offer a new 4G network home internet service in Springfield and two other U.S. markets deemed "rural," Verizon spokesperson Kate Jay told the News-Leader.

Verizon's new LTE Home Internet plan takes advantage of 4G network resources already available in places like Springfield, Jay said.

"With the initial markets, we took a look at areas where we had available network capacity," Jay said on a call from Atlanta, Georgia. "This was not like 5G, that requires new network infrastructure. We are leveraging our existing network infrastructure."

Along with Springfield, Verizon will sell the new broadband-style service in Savannah, Georgia and the Tri-Cities region in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky, Jay said.

LTE Home costs and benefits

The plan costs $60 per month for those who don't subscribe to Verizon wireless service; $40 per month for those who do. (Those prices include a $10 auto-pay discount, Jay said.) The LTE Home router device costs $10 per month, using a device payment plan.

The service is intended to help people work or educate their kids from home, as well as allow for speeds better than those required for HD streaming video, Jay said.

The details:

• Customers get unlimited data.
• Download speeds are 25 Mbps, with "peak internet speeds" of 50 Mbps.
• Upload speeds are 6 Mpbs.
• LTE Home's router device is meant to be "super-easy" to install without using other tools or technology, Verizon's spokesperson said, but customers can get 30 days of free setup support through a Verizon program. 

“With LTE Home Internet, our most awarded 4G LTE network will provide Internet connectivity for customers in more rural parts of America who may not have access to broadband Internet service," said Frank Boulben, senior vice president of consumer marketing and products at Verizon, in a news release.

Boulben called rural internet access "a critical need, especially now, when so many are counting on reliable connectivity for remote work and educational needs."

Jay, the spokesperson, said that going forward Verizon plans to add more markets where it might make 4G home internet service available. 

Verizon isn't the only new entry into the home-internet market in Springfield.

T-Mobile offers a similar, LTE-based high-speed home internet service for $50 a month (after a $5 auto-pay discount).

As the News-Leader reported in February, City Utilities is partnering with CenturyLink on a $120 million fiber optic network, intended to be available to every home in Springfield over the next three years.

Rural high-speed internet access is thought of as a significant issue by many consumers, as well as political and business leaders including President Donald Trump, because it could facilitate growing small businesses and education options for kids and adults.

Internet access issues have been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments have sometimes mandated or encouraged people to stay at home in a bid to slow the spread of the disease.

Gregory Holman is the investigative reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to gholman@gannett.com and consider supporting vital local journalism by subscribing. Learn more by visiting News-Leader.com/subscribe.