Earlier today, Google announced the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, both of which Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) will carry. But if you want to purchase the latter through the carrier, you’ll have to pay $600 or $25 per month on a two-year Verizon Device payment plan to get the device. That’s $100 more than the $499 Google plans to sell the Pixel 4a 5G through its website when the phone goes on sale next month.

You can chalk up the price hike on the fact Verzion’s version of the phone, the Pixel 4a 5G UW, has additional radios and antennas to take advantage of the carrier’s mmWave 5G buildouts. If you live in a city with mmWave coverage, you’ll get access to blazing-fast download speeds, but finding those areas can feel like a scavenger hunt. Here’s the other thing. For a $100 more, you can buy the Pixel 5 through Verizon and get a phone with a bigger battery, IP68 water resistance, Qi wireless charging, a 90Hz display and more RAM. Oh, and it too can connect to Verizon’s mmWave network.

Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) has introduced a new plan for tablets, hotspots, smartwatches and laptops that’ll give you access to its 5G Ultra Wideband network, provided you have a device that supports it. The Unlimited Plus plan expands upon the carrier’s old Unlimited plan and includes double the LTE data allowance. While the standard Unlimited plan comes with 15GB of LTE data, the Plus version comes with 30GB — it’s also just $10 more expensive at $30 a month if you already have an existing smartphone plan with the company.

The carrier says the new offering is meant to address people’s needs for more data and a more reliable coverage due to work-from-home or distance learning arrangements. Of course, the new plan would be even sweeter for those who have the devices that can take advantage of Verizon’s 5G network, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Tab and Lenovo’s Flex 5G.

Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is a poorly kept secret, but there have been questions about availability — would it be widely available, or sell only to a limited audience? Americans, at least, might not have to look at the phone from afar. WinFuture’s Roland Quandt has discovered (via Android Police) multiple videos on Verizon’s website (disclaimer: Verizon is Engadget’s parent company) that suggest the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is coming to the US. The clips only show renders of the lower-cost device in lavender, mint, navy and red, but their mere presence suggests the carrier is getting ready to offer the device.

Despite the Fan Edition name, the phone is expected to be a lower-cost alternative to the regular S20 rather than a device aimed at enthusiasts. It’s rumored to keep core features like a speedy 120Hz display, the Snapdragon 865 (in some models) and triple rear cameras, but would make a number of sacrifices to cut costs, including a lower-resolution 1080p screen, reduced RAM (either 6GB or 8GB), and an 8-megapixel 3X telephoto lens instead of a crop-based 48MP sensor.

Google’s in-house incubator Area 120 wants to make it easier for people to stay connected inside buildings where cell service might be iffy, for instance, inside NBA stadiums. To do that, Area 120 just launched Orion WiFi, a platform that links carriers to public WiFi providers. When customers of participating carriers walk into a building or space with public WiFi, Orion will automatically and securely connect their devices to the WiFi.

Through the Orion platform, public WiFi providers will sell their capacity to carriers. In theory, better connectivity will make customers happier, which could benefit both carriers and venues alike. Plus, customers won’t have to go through an irritating sign-on process. The WiFi connection will happen seamlessly.

Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) was the biggest winner in the FCC’s recently concluded auction for licenses in the 3.5 GHz band. In its announcement, the commission has revealed that Verizon placed $1.89 billion in winning bids, followed by Dish Network (under the name Wetterhorn Wireless) with total winning bids worth $912 million. The FCC started auctioning off 70 megahertz of Priority Access Licenses in a band that’s seen as key to widespread 5G and Internet of Things deployment back in July.

When the agency announced (PDF) the auction’s conclusion last month, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said it was a key part of the commission’s 5G FAST Plan and its “ongoing push to make more mid-band spectrum available for 5G.” In all, the auction reached $4.6 billion in winning bids, not just from Verizon and Dish, but also from a number of cable operators. As the Wall Street Journal notes, their participation suggests that they’re planning to offer more mobile services or that they’re working to break free from running their services on Verizon’s network.

You no longer need to subscribe to AT&T’s main offerings to get a taste of its 5G service. The carrier’s Cricket Wireless prepaid brand has launched 5G service (via The Verge), providing the faster downloads and reduced lag with lower service costs. You’ll need to spend at least $60 per month for an Unlimited Plan to use a 5G phone, but that’s not surprising given how easily you can chew through data using 5G.

The update also brings 5G to Cricket’s internet-only Simply Data plans, including a new $90 per month plan that offers 100GB at 5G speeds. Service starts at $35 per month for 20GB of full-performance data.

The renders themselves don’t appear to share anything new, although they’re a friendly reminder that offering an Android device with Google apps also means agreeing to the search giant’s policies, including the presence of a Google search bar on one of the default home screens.

The Duo might not be as expensive as you’d expect. While the two 5.6-inch AMOLED screens are clearly its highlights, the new Surface might include modest hardware like a 2019-era Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. You’d also get just one 11-megapixel camera for video chats and selfies. As Microsoft has hinted for a while, the Duo could really be focused on the software — it would be more about multitasking for work than competing with the latest high-end phones.

The expansion is a big step towards broader 5G adoption throughout the country — you’ll probably want to be able to connect to a 5G network when you pick up a 5G-ready phone, after all. T-Mobile says it’s working with OnePlus, Qualcomm and Samsung to make sure compatible devices can access the standalone 5G network after a software update.

“Since Sprint became part of T-Mobile, we’ve been rapidly combining networks for a supercharged Un-carrier while expanding our nationwide 5G footprint, and today we take a massive step into the future with standalone 5G architecture,” Neville Ray, T-Mobile’s president of technology, said in a press release. “This is where it gets interesting, opening the door for massive innovation in this country — and while the other guys continue to play catch up, we’ll keep growing the world’s most advanced 5G network.”

AT&T has hit a milestone in its 5G network rollout. As of this morning, the carrier says that its network is officially available nationwide — in carrier-speak, that means it’s available to more than 200 million people in the US. Specifically, AT&T added 40 new markets today, which brings it to a total of 395 markets that cover 205 million people. That puts AT&T a bit behind T-Mobile, which launched its 5G network nationwide in December of last year. They’re still far ahead of Verizon (Engadget’s parent company) though — Verizon’s “ultra wideband” 5G coverage is still only available in 35 cities around the US.

Of course, “5G” doesn’t mean the same thing from carrier to carrier. Verizon’s ultra wideband network uses the notably faster mmWave technology, while T-Mobile and AT&T primarily use mid- and low-band 5G to achieve their nationwide coverage. Verizon hasn’t deployed anything in those spectrums yet, which is why their 5G network is so limited in range — mmWave doesn’t have nearly the same reach. AT&T and T-Mobile both complement their networks with mmWave, but they’re also much more limited in reach.

If this is tied to the boycott, it could represent the largest financial blow yet to Facebook over claims its hate speech and misinformation policies are inadequate. Pathmatics estimated that Disney was Facebook’s top US advertiser in the first half of 2020, according to the WSJ. While it won’t necessarily cause significant hardship for Facebook, it may be noticeable than ad cuts for other companies, including Ford, Starbucks and Engadget’s parent company Verizon.

Facebook previously said it would alter its policies to address concerns. Civil rights leaders behind the boycott have complained that meetings with the social network have been disappointing, though, and have vowed to maintain boycotts until there are more substantial changes. The company failed its own audit of civil rights and hate speech issues.

It’s too soon to say if Disney participation in the boycott would prompt Facebook to reconsider its position. High-profile advertisers like this are harder to ignore, though, and may prompt other companies to follow suit.