Verizon (VZ) Brings 5G Ultra Wideband To Mcity Test Facility

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is leaving no stone unturned to maintain its market share as the largest national wireless service provider. The telecom bellwether recently announced that its 5G Ultra Wideband network is live in the Mcity Test Facility.

This test center is situated on a 32-acre site on University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex and has more than 16 acres of road and traffic infrastructure. It is known to be the world’s first controlled hub, focusing precisely on intelligent transportation and autonomous vehicles.

Since Jul 21, 2015, Verizon is part of Mcity’s leadership circle of 11 companies. This includes General Motors (NYSE:GM), State Farm and LG, who are working in concert to help drive R&D in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. Verizon has been actively developing various 5G solutions designed to increase pedestrian safety and avoid car accidents.

The company’s 5G service will likely have a significant positive impact on smart vehicle technology. Massive bandwidth, super-fast speed and ultra-low latency are likely to provide the foundation for autonomous vehicles. The avant-garde network can transmit data faster than the blink of an eye. This enables autonomous vehicles to react faster than humans when it comes to braking to avoid a collision.

As the race is heating up, Verizon is seeking competitive edge in a saturated and price-sensitive market. The company has upped the ante against rivals by launching 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service in multiple cities.

The network hinges on three fundamental drivers to deliver the full potential of 5G technology. These include massive spectrum holdings, particularly in the millimeter wave bands for faster data transfer, end-to-end deep fiber resources and the ability to deploy large number of small cells.

With one of the most efficient wireless networks in the United States, Verizon continues to deploy the state-of-the-art technologies to deliver increased capacity, lower latency and faster speeds, driven by customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering and constant strategic investments. Further, the company announced that 5G is available in Phoenix, the 10th city among the 30 planned 5G mobility cities in 2019.

Driven by healthy traction in the wireless business, Verizon’s shares have gained 8.6% compared with the industry’s growth of 7.8% in the past year. The company beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 2.6%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Verizon currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) , Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corp. (NYSE:NOK) and Sonim Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONM) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Viasat surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 230.6%.

Nokia surpassed earnings estimates thrice in the trailing four quarters, the average positive surprise being 89.3%.

Sonim has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 25%.

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