Verizon Forged Deals With Crown Castle, SBA Communications To Fast-Track C-Band Equipment Deployment

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) has inked deals with Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE: CCI) and SBA Communications Corp (NASDAQ: SBAC) to accelerate the deployment of C-band equipment for the launch of 5G Ultra-Wideband and fixed wireless broadband service on the newly acquired spectrum.
Castle and SBA already hosted Verizon infrastructure equipment.
Verizon won an average of 161 MHz of C-band nationwide spectrum in the recent FCC auction. The C-band offered greater speeds and coverage for both mobility, home broadband, and business internet solutions.
The 5G Ultra-Wideband deployment on the spectrum required new network equipment, including basebands and antennas on existing towers.
The deals with both Crown Castle and SBA Communications offered process improvements leading to Verizon's faster deployment of C-band equipment.
Both the agreements established terms for leasing space on existing towers for C-band equipment.
The addition of the C-band spectrum will enable Verizon to offer the differentiated 5G Ultra-Wideband mobility service to an additional 250 million customers offering the internet provider choice to 50 million additional customers, stated Verizon SVP Heidi Hemmer.
Price action: VZ shares traded higher by 0.10% at $57.55 on the last check Monday.