The fiber optic expansion is imminent

Anyone watching Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier will wonder what impact it will have on the speed at which Verizon rolls out fiber to additional locations.

Verizon is yet to complete the acquisition, but has said it will process over 1 million passport transfers annually.

Verizon and Frontier have approximately 10 million fiber customers in 31 states and Washington DC, with fiber networks covering over 25 million locations. Both companies expect to increase their fiber penetration through completion.

“We said we would do more than a million passes. And some people assume it’s a million,” Vestberg said. “The upside here is significant because we will approach it in a disciplined manner and get the best return on investment.”

He added: “So we see this opportunity, but we want to finish first.”

Verizon wants to acquire Frontier to serve 35 to 40 million households. However, Vestberg stressed that it needs to evaluate the markets it acquires from Frontier.

“Where I’m planning to use it and how we’re going to do it, it’s too early to say because we know exactly where we’re going to use it, because it’s very different to use it in a rural area and a suburban area, in an urban area “, he said. “So there are many factors to consider, including the state of the market in general.”

Consumer-focused broadband and wireless offerings

By expanding its wireline and fixed broadband reach, Verizon is confident it can make a stronger case for converged offerings.

Vestberg said a near-universal broadband footprint is an important foundation for convergence.

“Today the market is not particularly convergence-oriented because no one has a nationwide broadband presence,” he said. “I think we will be as close as possible. Our goal is to provide broadband to over 100 million households in just a few years.”

While Verizon, with a more pronounced broadband presence, is better positioned to offer what Vestberg calls a “completely different offering,” Verizon sees the converging opportunities as either demand- or consumer-driven.

“If the customer wants to buy Wi-Fi and broadband from us, we will sell it,” he said. “And there are some values ​​that we can share because they are lower when it comes to the building, customer satisfaction and all of that, as well as operations.”

He added: “It’s not like, ‘hey, if you take my broadband business I’ll give you Wi-Fi,’ because we want them to be self-sufficient.”

The other potential benefit Verizon could gain with converged offerings is customer retention.

“As the broadband base grows, we will have more customers overall,” Vestberg said. “This will be important over time because the more services you have horizontally or vertically, the lower the churn. So it has benefits for us too and we are willing to share those, but we want it to be demand-driven and consumer-driven.”

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