Testing Verizon's 5G network in Chicago with the Moto Z3 shows download speeds between 400-600 Mbps, ~10X faster than iPhone XS Max, but with limited coverage
Finding 5G coverage in Chicago, one of two launch cities, is extremely difficult — I've spent the past 18 hours in Chicago …
Context & Ripple Effects
This hands-on test lands the day after Verizon's mobile 5G launch in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis, weeks after the carrier set $85-$105 unlimited pricing for the service. The verdict is split: on a Moto Z3, downloads hit 400-600 Mbps — roughly 10X an iPhone XS Max — but finding a usable signal in one of just two launch cities took hours of walking.
The speed-versus-coverage tension defined the following year: a May retest on Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G found peaks up to 1.35 Gbps but inconsistent performance, and by late 2020 broad 26-city network testing concluded 5G was not living up to its hype.
First-order effects
- Early buyers paying Verizon's $85-$105 unlimited premium get a network they can rarely connect to in Chicago — the Moto Z3's 400-600 Mbps is real but confined to scattered pockets of two cities.
- Verizon's launch framing shifts from raw speed to footprint: the 10X gap over the iPhone XS Max is only demonstrable where mmWave signal exists, making coverage maps the immediate battleground.
Second-order effects
- Device makers become the differentiator: the Galaxy S10 5G retests a month later show higher peaks (up to 1.35 Gbps) than the Moto Z3, pushing Verizon's 5G story onto handset modems rather than the network alone.
- Rival carriers face pressure to match headline speeds while avoiding the same thin-coverage trap, setting up the marketing race that later testing would judge harshly.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — flagship speeds in launch pockets, disappointment at scale — consumer trust in carrier 5G claims erodes before nationwide buildouts mature, as the 2020 finding that some carriers' 5G ran slower than their own 4G suggests.
- Launch-city speed demos become a template carriers repeat: market the peak number first, backfill coverage later, leaving early adopters effectively beta-testing infrastructure at premium prices.
The trend: First-generation US 5G launches are trading headline peak speeds for patchy millimeter-wave coverage, forcing carriers to sell a network most subscribers cannot yet find.