By Mike Robuck
Verizon CFO Matt Ellis told an investor conference the operator’s C-Band network had garnered usage of between 5 per cent and 15 per cent after almost two months of operation, touting benefits to quality of experience along with coverage.
The operator is relying on C-Band to boost coverage of its fixed wireless access (FWA) service, employing spectrum between 3.7GHz and 3.98GHz to bridge gaps between its low-band and mmWave holdings.
Ellis stated the C-Band network was delivering peak data rates of around 900Mb/s and Verizon expects to break the 1Gb/s mark when the spectrum is paired with its other holdings.
The network “also reduces our need to add LTE capacity”, he added.
Verizon committed close to US$53 billion on the spectrum, including the purchase price and cost of reimbursing satellite service providers for clearing the frequencies.
It twice delayed launch of services in the band due to US aviation industry concerns over interference, an issue which resulted in Verizon and rival AT&T putting deployments near some airports on ice.
Verizon expects to have FWA available to 50 million homes and 14 million businesses by the end of 2025, with subscriber growth of 4 million to 5 million.
Ellis said the company expects net additions of more than 150,000 in the current quarter “more than double” the number in Q4 2021.
“We’re seeing great performance on the C-Band so far,” he added.
