Verizon has outlined its plans to expand 5G coverage using the spectrum it acquired in the recent C-band auction. At an analysts meeting, the company said the improved services will help it accelerate services revenue growth, to at least 2 percent this year, 3 percent in 2022 and 2023 and 4 percent or more in 2024. It's committed an extra USD 10 billion in capex over the next three years to support the roll-out, on top of the projected spending this year of USD 17.5-18.5 billion.
Verizon more than doubled its existing mid-band spectrum holdings in the auction, adding an average of 161 MHz of C-Band nationwide for USD 52.9 billion including incentive payments and clearing costs. The company acquired between 140 and 200 MHz in every available market, including 60 MHz in the 46 markets that will be cleared first by satellite operators this year, where more than half of the US population lives.
In the next 12 months, Verizon expects to have incremental 5G bandwidth via the new spectrum available to 100 million people in the initial 46 markets. Over 2022 and 2023, coverage is expected to increase to more than 175 million people and by 2024 and beyond, when the remaining C-Band is cleared, more than 250 million people are expected to have access to Verizon’s 5G service on C-Band spectrum.
The band is widely supported on handsets and in other countries, meaning customers will have access quickly, the operator noted. All new postpaid devices Verizon launches in future will support these frequencies, with more than 20 available by the end of this year.
5G home internet
The company also outlined progress with its wireless home internet service, based on 4G and 5G. By the end of this year, Verizon expects to cover nearly 15 million homes with its home broadband product, and by the end of 2023, 30 million homes.
5G Home internet, the fast service with download speeds up to 1 Gbps depending on location, is currently available in 18 markets, with 1-2 million households expected to be covered via mmWave by end of 2021 and a total of 15 million with LTE Home and the arrival of the first tranche of C-Band.
Mobile edge computing market
The other growth areas for 5G are in business services and especially edge services. Verizon is developing public edge services with Amazon Web Services and a private MEC model with Microsoft. Verizon estimates the edge service market will be worth USD 30 billion by 2025.
