Verizon revamps fixed wireless with 1-Gig mmWave service to match fibre speeds

Verizon has revamped its fixed wireless access (FWA) offering with a 1-Gbit/s service using millimetre-wave spectrum, aiming to match fibre speeds in metropolitan areas and free up mid-band capacity for mobile services.

Chief executive Dan Schulman announced the service on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on 26 October 2026, describing it as a more sophisticated, segmented approach to FWA and a technological breakthrough for the carrier. The service is rolling out this quarter and through 2027.

Verizon said it had repurposed 1,700 MHz of millimetre-wave frequencies that had been largely underutilised, and that using the spectrum would offload C-band capacity and make its network more efficient.

Over the medium term, the carrier aims to add 10 to 15 million premises at 1-Gig speeds through FWA, on top of its existing target of 40 to 50 million fibre passings. It reiterated that it expects more than 32 million fibre passings by the end of this year.

The announcement came as Verizon reported 314,000 broadband net additions in the third quarter: 155,000 fibre connections and 159,000 FWA additions. Schulman said the company would no longer sell customers a service that could not meet their speed needs, saying: “If a customer needs a gig of speed and we can only offer them 300 meg, we shouldn’t sell the service.”

He added that Verizon would likely go well beyond its target of 8 to 9 million FWA customers by 2028 now that it has a high-speed offering.

Sources: Light Reading, Verizon Q3 2026 results, MarketBeat earnings-call transcript