Verizon’s commitment to dense fiber networks is the natural complement to its spectrum holdings and the importance of the mobile business. Simply put, Verizon has chosen to provision new capacity in large part by using smaller cells and dense fiber networks, rather than buying lots of new spectrum.
Other mobile operators--with different sets of assets--are making different choices. T-Mobile US is focused mostly on low-band spectrum for 5G. Sprint will use mid-band assets. AT&T and Verizon added lots of millimeter wave spectrum by buying firms that held such licenses.
Hans Vestberg, Verizon Communications Chairman & CEO says Verizon is deploying more than 1,000 fiber miles a month, in 60 markets. That is the natural complement to millimeter wave assets, which prior to the conclusion of 28-GHz and 24-GHz spectrum auctions, was an area of huge Verizon asset ownership.
So it is logical for Verizon to use that spectrum, built on small cells, and entailing dense fiber networks, that are suited for urban areas, as that is where the heaviest capacity demand exists.
The other big change is dynamic spectrum sharing, allowing a single phone to use both 5G and 4G networks, from two different cell sites. ”Then we don't need to discuss if it's 4G or 5G,” said Vestberg. That is another practical example of how 5G is built on 4G.
Using dynamic spectrum sharing, the 5G experience literally will be built on the ability to directly use 4G capacity.
With different asset and customer profiles, neither Sprint nor T-Mobile US is going to take the Verizon deep fiber approach.
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