Speaking during Verizon’s third-quarter earnings call, the telco’s chief executive officer Daniel Schulman said the company had developed an FWA solution using its millimeter-wave spectrum that will enable it to deliver a 1 Gbps product in metro areas across the U.S., complementing its fiber footprint
In sum – what to know
1 Gbps FWA — Verizon plans to scale a new high-speed FWA service using its 1,700 MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum, beginning this quarter and continuing through 2027 and beyond.
10–15 million target — The company aims to add 10–15 million premises that can receive 1 Gbps through FWA, on top of its planned 40–50 million fiber build.
Spectrum advantage — CEO Daniel Schulman said Verizon’s millimeter-wave holdings have become a differentiated competitive advantage while also creating incremental efficiency and capacity in its existing C-band spectrum.
Verizon plans to scale a new 1 Gbps fixed wireless access service using millimeter-wave spectrum, with the telco’s chief executive officer Daniel Schulman saying the company aims to substantially expand the number of premises it can serve at the higher speed.
Speaking during Verizon’s third-quarter earnings call, Schulman said the company had developed an FWA solution using its millimeter-wave spectrum that will enable it to deliver a 1 Gbps product in metro areas across the U.S., complementing its fiber footprint.
“We will begin to scale our new high-speed FWA service beginning this quarter and throughout 2027 and beyond in order to deploy the enhanced capabilities and performance our customers expect from us,” Schulman said. Over the medium term, Verizon aims to substantially increase the number of premises it can serve with 1 Gbps speeds through FWA.
Schulman said Verizon’s 1,700 MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum has become a differentiated and competitive advantage for the company. “Our 1,700 megahertz of millimeter wave spectrum has suddenly become a differentiated and competitive advantage. And it also has a dual benefit in that it will create substantial incremental efficiencies and capacity in our existing C-band spectrum,” he said.
The FWA strategy is part of a broader shift in how Verizon approaches broadband, with the company using both fiber and FWA while applying a more segmented approach to the wireless broadband product.
“Our operating philosophy is to deliver the connectivity experience, that each customer segment demands, not simply the network and technologies we happen to have available,” Schulman said.
He added that Verizon will not sell FWA to customers in segments where the company cannot deliver the speed they expect. “Between fiber and FWA, we have the assets to deliver great value in broadband. But it also demands a more sophisticated segmented approach to FWA where we can’t deliver the speed a particular segment of customers expects from Verizon. We won’t sell it,” he said.
Schulman said Verizon began implementing that approach during the third quarter and emphasized that customer considerations should take priority over pursuing net-addition targets.
Broadband growth and improving performance
Verizon reported 314,000 broadband net additions in the third quarter, with fiber accounting for nearly half of broadband net adds. The company said mobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.9% year over year in the third quarter, improving from 2.8% in the second quarter and 1.6% in the first quarter. Verizon expects that growth to accelerate to approximately 4% in the fourth quarter. Wireless service revenue also improved sequentially, with Verizon expecting year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter.
Schulman said network performance continues to improve and that Verizon’s AWS-3 spectrum acquisition is already enhancing the network. “The spectrum we won in the AWS 3 auction is already enhancing our network, and it will enable us to further improve our capabilities and performance in key metro areas as we continue to deploy it,” he said.
