Sprint is now offering 5G access across all of its unlimited service plans. That's a change from when Sprint first launched 5G last year; the service was restricted to its most expensive unlimited plan at that time.

Sprint officials confirmed to Light Reading that the change in the carrier's 5G pricing plans goes into effect today. The change was first reported by Wave7 Research, a firm that carefully tracks the pricing and promotions among all of the nation's wireless providers.

When Sprint first launched its 5G service last year, customers could only access the service if they subscribed to Sprint's "unlimited premium" plan that costs $80 per month. Now, though, 5G access is included in Sprint's "unlimited plus" plan that costs $70 per month as well as its "unlimited basic" plan that costs $60 per month.

Sprint isn't the only operator to tweak its 5G pricing plans. When Verizon first launched 5G it planned to charge an extra $10 per month for the service, but the operator quickly backed away from that plan after critics pointed to its miniscule 5G coverage areas. The operator late last year reinstated the $10 per month fee on its cheapest unlimited plan, and promised to add the fee to its more expensive unlimited plans at some unspecified point in the future.

AT&T and T-Mobile, meantime, don't charge extra for 5G.

Sprint's 5G pricing plans may soon disappear if the operator's long-gestating merger with T-Mobile is ultimately consummated. T-Mobile, for its part, has promised not to charge extra for 5G if it is able to merge with Sprint.

— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano