Guest blog contributed by Verizon

This article originally appeared in FierceWireless, Linda Hardesty, September 16, 2021

When you think of Itron partner Verizon and fiber, you tend to think of Fios, which is a fiber-based brand in the Northeast U.S. that bundles connectivity, voice and video. But Verizon has other fiber, as well, including long-haul routes. And the company is currently deploying lots of fiber as part of its 5G roll-outs. 

Aparna Khurjekar, president of Verizon Business Markets, said, “All the 5G nodes need fiber. We are very aggressive in laying out fiber and 5G in the right places. It [fiber] is always associated with 5G. We believe 5G is the future of bandwidth connectivity.” 

Verizon and AT&T vie for the most fiber in the United States with each having more than 800,000 route miles, according to analysts at Cowen.

As part of its 5G/fiber rollouts, Verizon is also looking to help close the digital divide. And it sees fixed wireless access (FWA) as a technology to help with that. In an announcement earlier this year, Verizon said, “Laying fiber cable over long distances and wide areas is expensive and difficult, but 5G wireless broadband could prove a worthwhile investment for those communities.”

It said rural homes and businesses, where 5G becomes available, could get fast wireless internet through 5G FWA services. 

Verizon Business FWA

Besides using FWA to help close the digital divide, Verizon Business is touting the technology to its small and medium business customers as a replacement to cable and legacy telecom connections. Verizon Business is currently offering its 5G Business Internet FWA service in parts of 54 U.S. cities.

Of FWA, Khurjekar said, “We're seeing a lot of interest in the mid-size market. It started with Business Internet being a backup or temporary solution.”

Verizon at Itron Inspire

As our industry continues to evolve, Verizon continuously seeks opportunities to connect with other leaders to explore new ideas and ignite innovation. That’s why we were proud to be the platinum sponsor of Itron Inspire, Itron’s annual customer-focused event. All conference content is available to watch on-demand through Nov 19, 2021. Hear from Jim Kilmer, VP of Global Enterprise at Verizon, who shared how Verizon and Itron are working together for a better tomorrow during his opening keynote.