Verizon’s cheapest unlimited 5G plan has the “basics” but not high-speed Ultra Wideband

Verizon’s new Welcome Unlimited plan comes with a slightly more attractive $65 / month price tag for one line but only offers access to 5G on the company’s low-band nationwide network. It’s also missing support for a 5GB hotspot that Verizon’s other entry-level 5G Start plan offers for an extra $5 per month.

While Welcome Unlimited comes with unlimited text, talk, and data, Verizon notes that “your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic” whenever there’s more congestion on the network. The plan isn’t included with Verizon’s mix and match Unlimited plans, either — this means everyone on your plan must switch over to Welcome Unlimited if you decide to sign up.

When compared to the 5G Start plan, Welcome Unlimited is virtually the same but just comes without mobile hotspot data and the six-month free trials of Disney Plus, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass. Welcome Unlimited seems like a decent plan if you’re looking to save a couple of bucks and don’t need any extra perks. There is one perk that Welcome Unlimited has that 5G Start doesn’t, though, and that’s a $240 Verizon electronic gift card when you switch to the plan and keep your phone.

Bear in mind that you can only get access to the lowest $65 / month per line Welcome Unlimited price if you sign up for paperless billing and autopay. Otherwise, the Welcome Unlimited plan will cost you $75 / month per line for one line. It’s also worth noting that the plan has a $35 activation fee.

Verizon says its new plan “couldn’t come at a better time,” citing its own survey that 86 percent of Americans “are concerned with budgets and expenses increasing over the summer.” How kind of Verizon to start offering a cheaper plan after it joined AT&T by raising prices on customers in June and later upping prices on older shared plans as well.