Verizon Poised On Healthy Wireless Business And 5G Boom

In 2018, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) unveiled the world’s first commercial 5G service — Verizon 5G Home — in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento to enable customers to experience the first taste of commercial 5G network. It intends to thereafter augment broadband Internet and introduce 5G mobility service across the country.

Over the years, the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers, has spurred technological innovation and economic development, including introduction of mobile data and making the ecosystem more pervasive with 4G LTE. The company believes that what happened with 4G was small compared to the possibilities that 5G era holds. It is also looking to slash costs as it ramps up investment in next-generation 5G network, which is expected to fuel growth.

5G is dubbed as the technology of the future with faster download speed and seamless transfer of data. This radical technology brings to the table three new aspects for the overall improvement of the telecom space, namely, greater speed, lower latency and the ability to connect to more devices at once. It is touted to be the primary catalyst for next-generation Internet of Things services, including connected devices, augmented reality and virtual reality platform that revolutionize key industry verticals. Verizon expects solid traction to capitalize on the impending 5G boom and outsmart competitive pressure.

Notably, the telco giant achieved a feat of 5G firsts in collaboration with its technology partners during the outgoing year. These include 5G NR data transmission in a lab with Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corporation (NYSE:NOK) and QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) in February; two-way data transmission of 3GPP 5G NR and the first use of multi-carrier aggregation to enhance the signal into Gbps range outdoors with Nokia in June and data transmission on a commercial hardware 5G NR network in Washington DC in September with Nokia. The collaborations also comprise data transmission over commercial 5G NR network equipment to a prototype smartphone device in Minneapolis with Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Qualcomm in September; 5G data transmission on a smartphone using the Motorola (NYSE:MSI) moto z3 paired with a 5G moto mod with Samsung (KS:005930) and Qualcomm in November; video call from a 5G smartphone to a 5G smartphone over a 5G network in the United States with Samsung in December.

With one of the most efficient wireless networks in the United States, Verizon continues to deploy the latest 4G LTE Advanced technologies to deliver faster peak data speeds and capacity for customers, driven by customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering and constant strategic investment. The company has been aggressively moving ahead to expand its fiber optics networks to support 4G LTE and 5G wireless standards. Management is bullish on the industry's ability to grow revenues from deeper penetration of smartphones and cloud computing. We remain confident that the company is poised to gain solid traction from the 5G era.

Owing to operational efficiency, the stock has returned 7.1% against a decline of 2.2% for the industry in the past six months.



Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>

Ericsson (ERIC): Free Stock Analysis Report

Nokia Corporation (NOK): Free Stock Analysis Report

QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM): Free Stock Analysis Report

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research