Verizon recently began installation of C-Band equipment from Ericsson to speed deployment of its 5G ultra-wideband and fixed wireless broadband service on its recently acquired C-Band spectrum.
Verizon secured an average of 161 MHz of C-Band spectrum nationwide in the recent FCC auction, which will allow the company to offer expanded mobility and broadband services to millions more consumers and businesses. Deploying 5G ultra-wideband on this spectrum requires new network equipment including basebands, radios and antennas to be placed on existing towers. Verizon tapped Ericsson to supply the radio access network equipment for this massive deployment.
“We’re moving fast, with cooperation from our equipment partners, to have everything in place as soon as this C-Band spectrum is cleared for use,” said Kyle Malady, chief technology officer at Verizon. “This is a massive undertaking designed to add this game-changing capability as quickly as possible to the network our customers already rely on for consistent, superior performance when they need it most.”
Ericsson is partnering with Verizon to provide its industry-leading antenna-integrated radio product from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio to support Verizon’s network deployment. Ericsson’s solution leverages a superior massive MIMO architecture offering high performance through Ericsson Uplink Booster and advanced beamforming technology to provide a better user experience. Recent C-Band performance tests have demonstrated record-breaking data rates in both uplink and downlink on a single user device.
In the first quarter of 2022, Verizon expects to put into service the new 5G C-Band spectrum in the initial 46 markets and to provide 5G ultra-wideband service to 100 million people. 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 spectrum is cleared, more than 250 million people are expected to have access to Verizon’s 5G ultra-wideband service on C-Band spectrum.