Can wireless challenge cable for home internet service?

N EW YORK» Cellular companies such as Verizon are looking to challenge traditional cable companies with residential internet service that promises to be ultrafast, affordable and wireless.

Using an emerging wireless technology known as 5G, Verizon’s 5G Home service provides an alternative to cable for connecting laptops, phones, TVs and other devices over WiFi. It launched in four U.S. cities on Oct. 1 (Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif.).

Verizon won’t be matching cable companies on packages that also come with TV channels and home phone service. But fewer people have been subscribing to such bundles anyway as they embrace streaming services such as Netflix for video and cellphone services instead of landlines.

“That’s the trend that cable has been having problems with for several years, and a trend that phone companies can take advantage of,” Gartner analyst Bill Menezes said.

That’s if the wireless companies can offer a service that proves affordable and effective.

TMobile and Sprint are also planning a residential 5G service as part of their merger proposal, though few details are known.

Verizon’s broadbandonly service will cost $70 a month, with a $20 discount for Verizon cellular customers. According to Leichtman Research Group, the average price for broadband internet is about $60, meaning only some customers will be saving money.

Even so, Verizon can try to win over some customers with promises of reliability.

Verizon says its service will be much faster than cable. That means downloading a twohour movie in high definition in two minutes rather than 21. The service promises to let families play dataintensive games and watch video on multiple devices at once, with little or no lag.

“The things that really matter to a customer are how fast it is and how reliable it is,” longtime