Verizon Network and Technology Quarterly Update 2019: 1st Edition

5G, 4G, more fiber and a whole lot more. Since the start of 2019, from coast to coast, the Verizon network team has been deploying the latest technologies and advancements to create better network experiences for our customers. So what has the team been up to? Take a look...

In early April, Verizon launched its 5G Ultra Wideband Network in Chicago and Minneapolis, the world’s first cities to have a commercial 5G network with a commercially available 5G-enabled smartphone, the moto mod 5G. Continuing its 5G leadership, Verizon announced that starting April 25, Verizon consumer and business customers can preorder the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung’s first 5G smartphone in the U.S. Verizon revealed the names of 20 additional cities that will get access to its 5G Ultra Wideband network in 2019: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Washington DC. Verizon previously announced it would deploy 5G in select areas of more than 30 U.S. cities in 2019, and will roll out its 5G Home broadband internet service in some of these markets, as well. In his address at CES in January, our CEO Hans Vestburg described the capabilities of this next gen technology.

To create more opportunities for small businesses, Verizon has opened 5G labs in New York City, Cambridge, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Palo Alto. These labs are showing customers and small business what 5G can do. One company is putting a face on artificial intelligence (AI) by creating virtual humans who can learn and react in real-time.

Our 4G LTE network has plenty of innovation runway to go. Even if you don’t make the jump to 5G straight away, you’ll continue to have an exceptional network experience on our 4G LTE Advanced network. 

• We added the “Big 3” of 4G LTE Advanced technologies - carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO, and 256 QAM - in 1,500 markets. These features provide more capacity and enhanced peaked data speeds
• We also tested edge computing - putting compute power closer to consumers and business customers at a network’s edge - on a live 5G network, cutting latency in half. Low latency - the time it takes for information to make a roundtrip - is important today for applications like online gaming and video streaming, and will be increasingly vital as next generation wireless experiences emerge. As cloud computing has taken hold, there has been a trend to use large, centralized data centers where massive amounts of computing and storage take place. In the era of 4G, this approach enabled app development and innovations that significantly altered the way we use mobile devices.
• Using seven channel carrier aggregation and a combination of shared and licensed spectrum, we reached peak data speeds of 1.85 GB/second on 4G LTE.
• For Super Bowl 52, we invested $97 million in network enhancements, tripling capacity throughout Atlanta. This included the installation of nearly 30 new permanent cell sites and over 150 new small cells and 190 small cell capacity enhancements.

Our fiber deployment is rapidly expanding the multipurpose fiber network enabling new revenue opportunities in the large enterprise, small businesses, public sector and the wholesale businesses. We have ramped up in installations to a run rate over 1,000 route miles per month, which puts us at the top of all major U.S. fiber providers.

Our continued network investment in the latest innovative technologies has also resulted in virtually every independent third party network test demonstrating our network continues to be best in the industry, across the three major methodologies (drive testing, crowdsourced data and consumer experience studies). Here are 4 major wins so far in 2019:

• RootMetrics: Verizon was named best network nationally for the 11th consecutive time including for overall performance and reliability, and fastest network for the 10th straight drive-test study period
• JD Power: for the 22nd time in a row over 11 years, customers rated Verizon best in every single category, including calls, messages, and data connection experiences.
• OpenSignal: Verizon ranked #1 in Video Experience, Latency Experience and Upload Speed Experience in its most recent report
• Nielsen: best video streaming experience

We also responded to our customers when they needed us most. Following the devastating tornadoes in Alabama and floods in the nation’s heartland, we provided support and relief to customers in need. Verizon is committed to supporting residents, businesses and first responders working on the ground when a disaster strikes.