Verizon Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis today said the wireless operator expects that over 75 percent of growth over the next four years will come from 5G mobility and broadband.
“In the first-quarter, we saw growth in our wireless sales, customer loyalty, and rapid expansion of our fixed wireless product, fortifying our confidence in our growth prospects,” Matt Ellis said revealing the earnings report for Q1 2022.
The company on Friday reported a loss of 36,000 monthly phone subscribers in the quarter. For comparison, AT&T added 691,000 monthly phone subscribers during the first quarter of 2022.
Verizon reported revenue of $33.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 2.1 percent from first-quarter 2021. Net income of Verizon touched $4.7 billion, a decrease of 12.4 percent from first-quarter 2021.
Meanwhile, Verizon rival AT&T said its Capex reached $4.7 billion focusing on 5G and fiber during the first quarter of 2022.
Verizon said capital spending (Capex) for the first-quarter totaled $5.8 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion compared to first-quarter 2021 driven by C-Band spending of $1.5 billion. The build out of OneFiber and Verizon’s investment to support traffic growth on its 4G LTE network while expanding the reach and capacity of its 5G Ultra Wideband network enhances its opportunity to effectively compete in all of its businesses.
Verizon is targeting capital spending, excluding C-Band, in the range of $16.5 billion to $17.5 billion in 2022. Verizon will have additional expenditures of $5-$6 billion for the deployment of the company’s C-Band 5G network. Verizon aims to reach at least 175 million people with 5G Ultra Wideband by the end of the year from 113 million currently.
RootMetrics has named Verizon the most reliable 5G network in the United States. Verizon has deployed more than 35,000 mmWave sites to date. Verizon said 30 percent of all of wireless traffic uses C-Band spectrum. Verizon said it has the ability to deploy 5G UW to an additional 40 million people in over 30 new markets with early access to C-Band spectrum.
Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg said: “The January launch of C-Band and expansion of our 5G Ultra Wideband network helped to amplify our fixed wireless momentum in both Consumer and Business, with quarterly additions 2.5 times that of our fourth-quarter performance, and drove momentum in wireless upgrades.”
Verizon Consumer had fixed wireless additions of 112,000, with sales boosted by Verizon’s launch of C-Band spectrum and 5G Ultra campaign. Fios internet additions were 55,000, driven by record-low churn levels with gross additions lower compared to first-quarter 2021. Verizon Consumer Fios revenues were $2.9 billion in first-quarter 2022, an increase of 1.8 percent. Verizon Consumer reported 78,000 Fios Video losses in first-quarter 2022.
