Time to cut internet cords: T-Mobile, Verizon up their bids to be your next home broadband

Cord cutting is coming to home internet access, not just pay TV – but not every embittered broadband customer will be able to fire their current provider and switch to residential wireless from T-Mobile and Verizon. Both carriers offer connectivity at speeds that may not match those of cable internet but should be fast enough for many home uses. They also don’t inflict cable’s data caps or modem-rental fees. What they can’t do yet: match the vast service footprints of incumbent cable providers. T-Mobile says its $60 5G home internet service covers “more than 30 million households” across some 1.6 million square miles (the total US land area is 3.5 million). It hasn’t posted a coverage map, so would-be customers must plug in their home addresses at its site to check for service. Verizon launched its 4G LTE home internet service last June; with its most recent expansion, it now reaches “parts of 189 markets across 48 states.” Here, too, there’s no coverage map, so you’ll have to check your own address at its site. This $60 service ($40 if you already get Verizon smartphone service) offers downloads of 25 to 50 Mbps and uploads of 3 to 6 Mbps.