C-Band to cover 175 PoPs by year-end, significant expanding reach of 5G fixed wireless access service
Verizon was first to market with a 5G-backed service in 2018 with the launch of its then-pre-standard mmWave 5G Home fixed wireless broadband service. Now, as it rapidly deploys its C-Band spectrum, Verizon is looking to become a nationwide consumer and business broadband provider with the goal of capturing a “disruptive share” of the market, as Chief Strategy Officer Rima Qureshi put it at an investor’s event this week.
In terms of near-term monetization, Verizon sees fixed wireless access being its second biggest line of business behind mobility.
“We aspire to lead the industry and become the first nationwide broadband provider for consumers and businesses through fiber, 4G and 5G fixed wireless access,” Qureshi said. “With this new alternative to traditional broadband, we intent to disrupt an existing market…On the consumer side, our wireless customer base offers a significant opportunity to bundle our offerings with home broadband and extend average customer lifespan with simple and flexible plans.”
By the numbers, Verizon expects to have fixed wireless access available to 50 million homes and 14 million businesses by the end of 2025 with expected subscribers between 4 million and 5 million in that timeframe. CFO Matt Ellis explained that because Verizon is building a flexible, multi-purpose network there’s a low incremental cost to serve fixed wireless which translates to strong margins from the service.
In sum, CEO Hans Vestberg said, “We now have all of the assets we need as we look to serve a significantly larger market than our company has ever seen before…We can take advantage of owner’s economics in our mobility, fixed wireless access and mobile edge computing offerings.”
