BASKING RIDGE, N.J.,
Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- 2017 was a tremendous year for innovation and technology
advancement on Verizon's network. We continued leading the
industry in reliability, coverage and speed, and made significant
strides toward the network of the future for our customers,
investing in the latest technologies and software platforms, and
pushing boundaries in both 4G LTE Advanced features and 5G
technology. Here are some highlights.
4G LTE Advanced industry firsts for customers
4G LTE
Advanced features provide increased capacity and even faster speeds
for consumers, taking advantage of many new technological
advancements to use our network assets more efficiently and harness
unlicensed spectrum. Many of these enhancements are also
foundational stepping stones on the way to 5G and provide tangible
benefits today while laying the groundwork for our next generation
network.
In 2017, we built on our rich history of industry breakthroughs
with some "new firsts":
- First to reach 953 Mbps in a real-world environment using LAA
(Licensed Assisted Access).
- First to break the gigabit speed barrier in wireless.
- First to launch FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) Massive
MIMO.
- First to demo end-to-end band 48 CBRS (citizens broadband radio
service) carrier aggregation.
- Fully deployed on carrier aggregation across our network in
close to 2,000 markets.
- Deployed 4X4 MIMO and 256 QAM in over 560 markets
nationwide.
- First to launch a national CATM1 network for IoT uses.
Pioneering 5G
Along with our ecosystem partners, we
continued to explore the possibilities of future of 5G technology
trials and use cases. The technology will unleash amazing
capabilities and innovation through massive bandwidth and gigabit
speeds, even lower latency – response time in the blink of an eye –
and scalability in the billions of IOT devices.
- This year saw us launch the country's largest pre-commercial 5G
trials. Customers are providing us with valuable data and insights,
helping advance our expertise in the deployment of millimeter-wave
technology as we learn from the diversity of topology, building
construction, population densities, demographics and vendors.
- Here's a short video that highlights our recent field
trials.
- Some examples of lessons learned from the trials include:
-
- Millimeter-wave spectrum propagates better than expected;
results show we can get as high as 19 floors using our 28 GHz
spectrum.
- Median speeds of 1 GB/second beyond 2,000 feet from cell sites,
further than expected.
- We're getting better results than expected for wall penetration
through various building materials, and innovative solutions to get
through lowE window glass continue to take shape.
- In terms of latency (response time), we're seeing under 10
milliseconds compared to 50 milliseconds on our LTE network, and
it's only going to get better.
- While many in the industry talk of 5G being available in 2020,
our first commercial launches are planned for the second half
of 2018. The commercial launch – 5G residential broadband delivered
over fixed wireless technology, which is our first application and
use case of 5G, is based on customer experience and on Verizon's
confidence in 5G technology powered by millimeter-wave spectrum. We
are working closely with chipset manufacturers to accelerate
standards adoption to use millimeter-wave spectrum for
mobility.
- Yesterday, to further advance this technology and innovation,
we announced the creation of a 5G incubator/open innovation lab in
New York City's Silicon Alley that
will house startups, accelerators and entrepreneurs focused on
advancing this new technology and solutions with Verizon
innovation, product and venture teams. Trials are beginning with an
initial wave of 8 startup and academic partners. We expect the
initiative to provide additional insights into the service and
technology, new concepts and use cases.
Accelerated densification
We are the national leader
in network densification – increasing network capacity through the
deployment of additional fiber backhaul, small cells, distributed
antenna systems (DAS) and numerous in-building solutions.
- We have substantial small cell deployments in each of the top
25 markets and in 90% of the top 100 markets.
There when it really matters most … with
leading edge technology for emergency first responders,
consumers
Our engineers prepare year-round to ensure the
nation's most reliable network stays strong in the face of storms,
earthquakes, wildfires and anything else – keeping people connected
when they need it most.
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria devastated communities
throughout the South and Puerto
Rico, and wildfires destroyed record amounts of land in
northern and southern California.
- In the hardest hit areas of Texas after Harvey, more than 98 percent of
our network facilities were in service during and shortly after the
storm.
- In Florida post-Irma, 90
percent of our facilities remained operational over the first days
after the storm, and we were back to baseline performance within
five days.
- Backup batteries and generators kept sites on the air where
commercial power was out, and massive refueling efforts began as
soon as it was safe to do so, keeping those sites up and
running.
- We provided data relief to impacted customers and staged mobile
cell sites, communications trailers and charging stations for
residents in impacted communities.
- Our network team made important breakthroughs in how emerging
technologies are used in disaster response. We were the first
provider to successfully test a large
unmanned aerial vehicle providing airborne wireless
connectivity during an exercise alongside emergency
responders.
- We used specially equipped
aircraft to get a better view of cell sites in areas of
northern California threatened by
raging wildfires, and used smaller drones to inspect cell sites
after Hurricane Harvey.
- We donated more than $15 million
overall – including $10 million for
recovery efforts post-Harvey and Irma. More than 4,000 employees
participated in the Hand-in-Hand telethon, helping take calls for
hurricane-relief donations. The event raised $44 million.
- We pledged grants of $5 million
to fund Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Verizon engineers were on
the ground for weeks assisting our roaming partners on the islands,
offering support to carriers and coordinating with federal
agencies.
-
- We provided portable equipment, including generators, mobile
cell sites and antennas, to our roaming partners, Claro and Open
Mobile.
- We donated a generator to the University
of Puerto Rico.
- And we donated 44 laptops to help local regulators bring
Internet access to residents allowing them to apply for aid and
communicate with friends and loved ones. The donation doubled the
number of Internet access locations available to residents.
We provide the cutting-edge technology public safety officials
and first responders use every day, and we're right there beside
them during times of crisis.
- We're the industry leader in public safety
solutions with the greatest share of the public safety market
and an extensive portfolio of enterprise-class networking, IT
infrastructure, mobility, advanced communications, cybersecurity,
and professional consulting capabilities.
- We recently reaffirmed our long-term commitment to public
safety by announcing our plan to build and operate a dedicated
network core for public safety. This core will operate separately
from Verizon's commercial network, providing public safety
operators with access to our extensive 2.56 million square mile
nationwide LTE network. We'll also offer priority access and
preemption services to public safety when necessary at no
charge.
Third party accolades continue to add up
We engineer
our network for our customers, not to win accolades, but
third-party awards continue to recognize our industry
leadership.
- In 2017, we were rated the best overall network performance and
reliability 8 times in a row, and for the 7th
consecutive time for fastest speeds in the latest RootMetrics'
drive testing report.
- Additionally, the latest J.D. Power wireless network study
named Verizon best for a 19th consecutive
time.
Special Events
We were there for our customers at
major events, providing the connection attendees needed to share
their special moments.
- During the presidential inauguration, we used new
self-optimizing technologies that allowed network engineers to make
real-time adjustments, shifting wireless capacity as needed to
serve the crowds as they moved. The network team used Remote
Electrical Tilt (RET) antennas to remotely and dynamically change
antenna angles. In addition, we used Matsing Ball technology to
divide crowds into sectors like slices of a pie. Each slice
or sector was adjusted individually to best handle wireless
traffic.
- For the Super Bowl, we increased our wireless data capacity by
450% deploying 220+ permanent small cells, 24 Nodes on Wheels
(NOWs), 23 new permanent cell sites, and 4G LTE Advanced
technology. Our network was used by 45% of Super Bowl
attendees and provided the superior experience.
"Even by our own high standards, 2017 has been an incredible
year for our network and team. We deliver predictable excellence
for our customers, which means the most 4G LTE coverage, unrivaled
reliability and the consistently fast speeds our customers need,"
said Nicola Palmer, Chief Network
Engineer and Head of Wireless Networks, Verizon. "In 2018,
you won't see us settle for anything less than extension of the
industry leadership and technological innovation we're known for,
being the first to deliver what's next for our customers, partners
and the public safety community."
Looking ahead, Verizon plans to continue to focus on
innovation, investing in the latest technology and deploying its
Intelligent Edge Network, which combines dense fiber, software
defined networking (SDN) and high-capacity spectrum.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York City, has a diverse
workforce of 160,100 and generated nearly $126 billion in 2016 revenues. Verizon operates
America's most reliable wireless network and the nation's premier
all-fiber network, and delivers integrated solutions to businesses
worldwide. Its Oath subsidiary reaches about one billion people
around the world with a dynamic house of media and technology
brands.
VERIZON'S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media
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Media contact:
Karen
Schulz
864.561.1527
Karen.Schulz@verizonwireless.com
Twitter: @VZWKarenS
Related Links
http://www.verizon.com/
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http://www.verizonenterprise.com/
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SOURCE Verizon