Verizon’s ongoing fiber broadband build continues to bear fruit as more consumer customers find value in gigabit-level speeds. 

Speaking to investors during its third-quarter earnings call, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said customers’ adoption of gigabit speeds is boosting Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA).

“We are seeing over 55% of our new fiber broadband customers take 1 gig or more download speeds, driving significant incremental ARPA and customer satisfaction,” he said. “In Q3, our overall broadband ARPU increased year over year.”

Alongside fiber, Verizon plans to expand its gigabit broadband base through its fixed wireless access (FWA) offering.

Using its millimeter wave spectrum, the service provider developed a solution that will enable it to deliver a 1 gig FWA product in metro areas across the country, complementing the telco’s fiber belts.

“Over the medium term, we remain on track to deliver 40 million to 50 million fiber passings, with an incremental 10 million to 15 million premises covered by our new high-speed FWA technology,” Schulman said. “Our goal is to have the largest footprint in the country of premises covered with at least 1 gig of download speeds.”

Simplifying the broadband experience

Having added 1 million customers year-to-date, Verizon is now looking to not only scale the number of locations it can serve with fiber and FWA but also provide a better way to access its services.

The service provider is leveraging some of the best practices it has adopted in its wireless pricing strategy.

“Similar to mobility, we're taking steps to improve the overall customer experience, including simplifying our fiber pricing,” said Anthony Skiadis, Verizon's CFO. “We are looking to compete more on our value proposition and less on promotions.”

He added that “our third quarter fiber net adds reflect sustained demand for our products while also driving towards better customer lifetime values and margin performance.”

But Verizon’s fiber drive isn't just about broadband. It is also fueling its convergence strategy.

With its Frontier integration progressing, the service provider continues to win new customers purchasing wireless and fiber broadband bundles, fueling its convergence strategy.  

“Convergence continues to compound,” Schulman said. “Our Frontier integration remains ahead of plan. Postpaid phone customers are attaching our broadband solutions, and our broadband customers are attaching postpaid phone service, with both cohorts churning materially less than single-product customers.”

Ramping fiber supply

Verizon's growing fiber network underpins its FTTH plans. The service provider expects to end the year with over 32 million fiber passings.

In September, Verizon reached a multi-billion-dollar supply agreement with Corning for over 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber to meet surging demand, reflecting how fiber is being used to serve multiple network needs at once.

The agreement through 2032 provides the high-capacity optical solutions needed to expand nationwide consumer broadband access while scaling a high-density backbone to support Gen AI compute needs.

As part of this agreement, Verizon will leverage Corning’s Flow Cable, which enables Verizon to deploy significantly more optical fiber within conduit pathways. The ribbon cable maximizes the value of Verizon’s existing infrastructure investments while substantially increasing network capacity and bandwidth.

“Last month, we announced a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar agreement with Corning for more than 80 million miles of fiber through 2032, supporting both our fiber broadband expansion and the long-haul backbone that AI hyperscalers need,” Schulman said. “Taken together, this opportunity significantly extends our addressable market, our revenues and our profits, and we will talk about how it helps to drive our 2027 growth on our next earnings call.”’