Verizon's $25 Home Internet Lite: The Budget Solution?

Verizon is taking a serious shot at the budget internet market with a new service plan. It aims to provide connectivity to customers currently stuck with slower choices like DSL or satellite.

Called Home Internet Lite, the plan is perfect for light internet users and those on a strict budget. It offers a promotional rate that can drop the monthly cost to just $25 for three years.

The carrier says this service is designed for people who have limited connectivity or are looking for a cheaper option. Here’s how you can get the discounted price and what the speeds really look like.

How to Lock in the $25 Monthly Rate

Verizon's standard fixed internet costs $60 each month. Yet, you can cut the Home Internet Lite price by more than half by taking a few simple steps:

1. Bundle with a Phone Plan: This takes $15 off the monthly bill.
2. Enable AutoPay: This saves $10 more per month.
3. Sign Up Before Dec. 31: This gives you an extra $10 saving when you also bundle with a phone plan.

Do these things, and qualifying customers get the $25 per month price for three full years. People receiving federal assistance, like SNAP, may also qualify for the Verizon Forward program and pay as little as $20 per month.

The Fine Print: Speed and the 150GB Cap

The most significant detail for those eyeing this plan is the data structure. Home Internet Lite is delivered over Verizon's cellular network and is marketed as being best for "browsing, sending emails and streaming shows."

The plan advertises peak download speeds up to 25Mbps. That speed, though, won't last all month. Verizon says speeds will slow significantly—to a maximum of 10Mbps—once the customer hits 150GB of data usage in a single month.

To give you an idea of data use, high-definition streaming consumes a lot: an hour of ultra-HD video could use 10GB of data on a 5G network. A household relying on this plan for frequent streaming, gaming, or large file downloads could quickly reach the 150GB limit, leaving them with much slower service for the rest of the month.

How Home Internet Lite Stacks Up

While the $25 price is appealing, the 150GB cap sets it apart from other cellular network-based home internet plans:

• Mint Mobile offers a plan for $30 per month (if you have a phone plan with them) with speeds up to 415Mbps. That speed holds up until the customer uses 1TB (1,000GB) of data.
• T-Mobile also advertises download speeds up to 415Mbps. Their cheapest promotional plan is $30 per month, and speeds only begin to slow after the customer uses 1.2TB (1,200GB) of data.

The Verizon Home Internet Lite plan offers a powerful, inexpensive fix for truly light internet users—especially those currently dealing with very slow DSL or satellite. However, anyone with average or heavy usage should carefully review the 150GB data restriction before committing, since rivals offer much higher data limits before throttling speeds.