Verizon signed agreements with satellite company SES for early clearance of additional C-band spectrum the carrier acquired in 2021. That gives Verizon the ability to deploy its 5G Ultra Wideband service to more markets this year.
SES says it’s already completed its Phase I accelerated C-band clearing ahead of the first FCC deadline of December 5, 2021. As a result it earned nearly $1 billion in accelerated relocation payments. To meet the Phase II deadline of December 5, 2023, SES is working to repack its existing services from the 3700-4000 MHz band and complete equipment changes for incumbent Earth stations across the contiguous U.S. Doing so would earn SES an additional $3 billion in accelerated relocation payments.
SES will install filters and other ancillary equipment at about 500 sites in 2022, comparable to the activities executed during Phase I, and will earn up to an additional $170 million from Verizon, subject to delivering the cleared spectrum on a timeline agreed to by the parties.
“We will leverage the experience we have gained over the past year and shorten the clearing timeline for Verizon’s spectrum,” said SES CEO Steve Collar.
But SES will incur additional costs to speed the band-clearing. The previous estimate of $80 million of non-reimbursable costs is now being increased to $100 million.
Due to the early band clearing Verizon expects to deploy 5G Ultra Wideband service this year on at least 60 MHz and up to 100 MHz of spectrum in some areas. That translates to at least 30 additional major markets including Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Washington, D.C. and Denver, CO.
In January, Verizon said it would cover 100 million people across 1,700 cities with the 5G Ultra Wideband service, more than two months ahead of schedule. Now, the carrier is again revealing an acceleration of its deployment plan that it says will see at least 175 million people covered by the end of 2022, a year ahead of schedule.
“In my career with Verizon, I have never experienced a network deployment move so quickly,” said Verizon EVP/President of Global Network and Technology Kyle Malady.
Verizon continues its mmWave deployments across the densest parts of the network, including high-population venues, arenas, airports and gathering spaces. It says ongoing fiber investments enable Verizon engineers to scale transport needs easily and cost effectively, and improves reliability and performance for customers.
Verizon is also upgrading backhaul from one gigabit-per-second to 10 gigabits-per-second to allow mobile and fixed wireless access customers to take full advantage of 5G peak speeds.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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