Verizon “deeply believes in fixed wireless access,” said CEO Hans Vestberg on today’s third quarter earnings call.
Today, more than a quarter (2.7 million) of Verizon’s broadband customers are fixed wireless subscribers and a majority of the third quarter’s 434,000 net broadband customer additions were 384,000 fixed wireless subscribers.
Vestberg stated that his optimism that Verizon will be able to meet demand has only been boosted. Optimism, he claimed, is rooted in improvements already made and a path forward where he foresees further software development and radio improvements continuing to increase capacity.
Recently Verizon obtained early access to more mid-band, specifically C-band, spectrum from the 2021 auction and Vestberg believes that this addition will foster growth and “continue the fixed wireless momentum.”
Further, Vestberg noted that subscription increases came despite an increase of $10 per month for new bundle customers.
“In urban markets where C-band is already flowing, we are firing on all cylinders, leveraging its full potential through software upgrades, delivering two to three times more spectrum depth. As a result, peak speeds go from 900Mbps to an amazing 2.4 Gbps, enabling an even better experience for our customers. … C-band is a game-changer for our business … giving us strong broadband opportunity,” Vestberg said.
Verizon’s tally of broadband subscribers has reached 10.3 million subscribers and is up nearly 21 percent year over year.
Verizon’s spectrum plans are to complete its C-band deployment, first augmenting urban areas and then in 2024 expanding to suburban and rural markets in 2024. Vestberg’s confidence was brimming as he noted high customer satisfaction and net promoter scores for FWA service,
A replay of today’s earnings call is available at this link.
