Verizon has published a series of press releases detailing recent network achievements. First up, the operator has successfully completed lab trials using 200MHz of C-band spectrum. Last month, Verizon announced it was beginning to deploy 5G over 100MHz of the spectrum – a significant increase from the 60MHz of spectrum it has deployed in 5G markets to date. This latest move will more than triple the spectrum available for ‘5G Ultra Wideband’ in many markets. Adam Koeppe, Senior VP of Technology and Planning at Verizon, commented: ‘Imagine adding several more lanes to a highway. The more lanes, the more cars can get on and off the interstate and the faster they can drive.’
Next up, Verizon says it as now deployed over 8,000 virtualised RAN (vRAN) cell sites with a goal of deploying over 20,000 by the end of 2025. The move to a cloud-based, virtualised architecture with standardised interfaces is expected to lead to greater flexibility, faster delivery of services, greater scalability and improved cost efficiency in networks.
Finally, Verizon says it now connects around 48% of its cell sites with its own deployed fibre-optic cables and is on track to reach 50% by the end of this year. The telco notes: ‘Owning and operating the fibre that carries customer data from the cell site throughout the rest of the network allows the company to meet changing capacity needs rapidly, control upgrades and repairs to fibre cables and electronics immediately.’