Verizon plans to deploy Fios fiber broadband and make 5G fixed wireless service available to nearly 2,000 locations in five Delaware markets. Construction costs will be covered, in part, through $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
The five markets are Camden, Dover, Smyrna, Bridgeville and Ocean View. Verizon also plans to make its fixed wireless service available in Rehoboth and Dewey Beach.
The American Rescue Plan Act made funding available to cities, counties and states that could be used for a range of purposes, including broadband deployments.
Verizon Delaware Plans
Verizon’s plan to deploy fiber for the Delaware builds is notable, as the company has turned its attention, in large part, to fixed wireless in recent years. But it would appear that the government funding enabled the company to build a business case for fiber deployment in areas where that would not have been possible without the additional funding.
“Verizon is focused on delivering broadband internet service and the major economic benefits that it can provide,” said Doug Sullivan, vice president of wireline network operations for Verizon’s Mid-Atlantic North Region, in a press release. “From Fios to 5G Home, more people than ever across the First State have access to high-speed internet to fuel how they work, live and play.”
The news comes one year after Verizon received $11.8 million in ARPA funding toward deployments in Delaware that came via a state broadband program. Comcast and Mediacom also won funding at that time.
Verizon has not won government broadband deployment funding to the same extent as some of its peers, perhaps because the company has not aggressively pursued those opportunities. For example, unlike AT&T and others, Verizon turned down the money it was offered in 2015 in the Connect America Fund program for deployments in unserved rural areas.
Considering that Verizon has been focusing mostly on fixed wireless in recent years, its decision to lay fiber for the Delaware buildings is noteworthy.