Verizon says that its 5G Ultra Wideband service is available to about two out of every three Americans. That translates into 200 million people.
“Passing this new milestone provides more customers in more places with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband mobile capabilities and fixed broadband,” Joe Russo, Verizon’s executive vice president and President, Global Networks and Technology, said in a press release.
“For years we have been building the most reliable multi-purpose 5G network. In addition to mobility service, this expansion allows us to be aggressive insurgents in home and business broadband internet markets across the nation, offering customers choice and superior services.”
Verizon said that it will continue introducing 5G Ultra Wideband into rural and suburban areas, dedicate more spectrum to the service, and add new technologies to customize the user experience.
The rollout of 5G was different for each carrier.
T-Mobile, for instance, concentrated first on low-band spectrum that covers large distances but at speeds that barely exceed earlier-generation technology, followed by mid-band deployments, which cover somewhat shorter distances but at faster speeds.
Verizon first focused on higher-frequency deployments that offer awesome speeds but have limited range. Each carrier now is trying to fill out its repertoire by deploying service in spectrum bands that it first put on the back burner — either out of choice or out of necessity.
In August 2021, Verizon made its 5G Home fixed wireless and 5G Ultra Wideband mobile services available in parts of Austin, TX; Birmingham, AL and Gresham, OR.
The current version of 5G Ultra Wideband took shape two years ago next month, when Verizon said that it would use the branding for spectrum in the C-band. To that time, the label had only referred to deployments in high-frequency mmWave spectrum bands.
Much of the growth that culminated in the 200 million-person footprint was made possible by Verizon’s success in the C-band auction, which concluded in January 2021.
Well behind Tmobile at 265 million pops and 300 million end of this year.