Verizon set a goal of covering 175 million people with its ultra-wideband 5G network by the end of the year, up from 100 million at end-January.

During an investor day today (3 March), executives targeted service and other revenue growth of at least 4 per cent in 2024 and beyond, along with reducing capital intensity to below 12 per cent and share buy-backs when the company reaches a 2.25-times leverage ratio.

Verizon CEO and chairman Hans Vestberg stated its addressable market could grow by $100 billion over the next five years.

The operator also targeted increased broadband penetration with subscriber growth in fixed wireless access, and expects more devices to be compatible with the ultra-wideband network.

Verizon’s ultra-wideband service uses its mmWave network and edge compute capabilities.

At a roundtable during MWC22 Barcelona, VP of device technology Brian Mecum said Verizon had specified devices be compatible with mmWave since 2019 and expects to have up to 30 models available this year.

Mecum also detailed plans for a limited trial of +play, a direct-to-consumer TV platform featuring content from Netflix, Apple, ESPN and Discovery+ on its premium unlimited data tariff.

“That would have scared the socks off of us, to give you that much access to free video to consume all you want,” Mecum said. “But now with 5G, we’re not worried about that.”

Customers with 5G phones are willing to pay for the higher tier when it’s bundled with streaming content.

The trial is scheduled to begin at the end of this month with a commercial launch targeted later in the year.

Limited trials of +play will begin at the end of this month with an expected commercial launch later this year.

Metaverse
Verizon also unveiled a collaboration with Meta Platforms to explore how its mobile edge compute (MEC) infrastructure can deliver XR cloud rendering and low latency streaming, which the operator stated are core capabilities for metaverse applications.

The companies are targeting services covering hybrid working and collaboration, and consumer experiences.