Verizon’s CEO will consider inorganic deals and partnerships to reach 40 to 50M fiber passings
Key Highlights
- Verizon plans to pass 40 to 50 million homes with fiber, supported by acquisitions and partnerships like Tillman Global Holdings.
- The Frontier acquisition provides access to new markets and cross-sell opportunities, especially in wireless and broadband services.
- Verizon expects to realize over $1 billion in operational cost synergies by 2028 through network integration and efficiency improvements.
- The company added 372,000 broadband subscribers in 2025, driven by fiber and fixed wireless access growth.
- Industry competitors like AT&T are also focusing on convergence, with industry-wide shifts toward bundled fiber and wireless services.
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Verizon, which recently completed its acquisition of Frontier, has set a high bar to expand the reach of its fiber network as the pillar of its emerging converged service strategy within its newly expanded wireline footprint.
To meet its fiber expansion goals, particularly in markets outside of its traditional fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint, the service provider is considering potential acquisitions and partnerships. Last October, Verizon inked a deal with Eaton Fiber, an affiliate of Tillman Global Holdings, to target serviceable addresses in new markets.
Daniel Schulman, CEO of Verizon, told investors during its fourth-quarter earnings call that its agreement with Tillman will complement its acquisition of Frontier. With Frontier in its pocket, the service provider has raised the number of homes it plans to pass with fiber to 35 million to 40 million to 40 to 50 million.
“Our partnership with Tillman is going to help us with multi-dwelling units (MDUs) as we pass those locations,” he said. “And the more I look at convergence, the more optimistic I am that that's going to be a major part of our future, so we want to double down on that.”
He added that “we said in our CapEx guidance that we'll do at least 2 million organically, so we'll look at the possibility of both inorganic and partnerships."
Frontier’s convergence influence
Verizon reiterated that its acquisition of Frontier is a key element for its converged services vision.
By acquiring Frontier, Verizon gets access to a larger market of homes and businesses that today don’t subscribe to Verizon’s wireless services. Existing Frontier FTTH customers will now be able to get a service bundle that includes wireless services.
“Crucial to our converged future is the closing of our Frontier acquisition,” Schulman said. “We now have over 30 million fiber passings, with a significant cross-sell opportunity given our under penetration of wireless services in Frontier markets. We intend to continue our fiber build-out, adding at least 2 million fiber passings this year, to reach 40 million to 50 million fiber passings over the medium term.”
The company is not alone in its desire for service convergence.
Fellow telco AT&T, which is in the process of completing its acquisition of Lumen’s consumer fiber assets, noted in its fourth-quarter earnings call that it expects the convergence rate to reach 50%, driven by fiber and wireless integration, as part of a broader industry realignment towards bundled services. Verizon and AT&T’s emphasis on convergence comes as their cable competitors continue to raise the stakes by growing their wireless bases and bundling services.
At the same time, Verizon is moving to improve efficiency by integrating Frontier's assets into its operations. The company expects to realize over $1 billion in run-rate operating cost synergies by 2028, double its initial estimate.
“These savings will be derived from network integration, third-party contract efficiencies and go-to-market savings across marketing and advertising,” Schulman said. “The combination of our assets creates a powerful force in the market, and we intend to capture incremental net additions and share in both mobility and broadband services across Frontier markets.”
Raising broadband share
Driven by gains in its Fios FTTH service and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services, Verizon continues to raise its broadband market share, a trend that continued into the fourth quarter.
Anthony Skiadas, CFO of Verizon, said it continues to take “meaningful share” in broadband with a total of 372,000 additional subscribers. He said that the net adds were “our highest of the year, reflecting strong customer demand across both fixed wireless access and fiber.”
It added 319,000 FWA customers and 67,000 Fios customers, reflecting the highest fourth quarter net additions since 2020. “Our Consumer segment drove the quarter-over-quarter improvement and reflects the innovation and expansion around the product offering,” Skiadis said.
The impact of the Frontier acquisition and the Tillman partnership on broadband was also on display in the fourth quarter. Frontier deployed approximately 1.3 million new fiber passings in 2025, bringing its footprint to more than 9 million fiber passings.
“We are excited to grow our fiber footprint through the Frontier acquisition and the Tillman partnership,” Skiadis said. “Frontier delivered an exceptional performance in the fourth quarter, generating 125,000 fiber net additions, representing a 29% increase over the prior year. A strong operational pace supported this momentum.”
Skiadis added that when “we combine Frontier, FWA and fiber, net adds were almost 1.9 million for 2025, resulting in over 16.3 million connections.”
From an overall financial perspective, Verizon reported total operating revenue of $138.2 billion in 2025, up from $134.8 billion in 2024. In 2025, consolidated net income was $17.6 billion, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $50 billion.
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategy of Lightwave across its website, email newsletters, events, and other information products.