Verizon will beef up its multiple-dwelling unit (MDU) business organically with its own fixed wireless access (FWA) platform and its recent addition of Starry.
Verizon just wrapped up its acquisition of Starry, said Verizon EVP and CFO Tony Skiadas Tuesday at the Deutsche Bank Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference. “That will help us expand our product there in the MDU space and give us more open-for-sale on fixed wireless access,” he said.
Verizon announced the deal last October. The financial terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition gives Verizon access to Starry’s tech and its service presence in five US markets: Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC.
Starry, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023, had “nearly” 100,000 customers when the deal was announced, according to Verizon, offering speeds up to 1 Gbit/s in some areas. Starry was laser-focused on the MDU sector, though it dabbled in the single-home residential market in Columbus, Ohio, for a short time.
Verizon increased its focus on the MDU market last year when it introduced a new FWA product tailored for apartments and other types of MDUs.
2 million more fiber passings in 2026
The company will also look to expand its fiber footprint after closing its acquisition of Frontier Communications in January.
“We can do FWA and fiber at scale,” Skiadas said.
With both Frontier and Eaton Fiber now in the mix, Verizon’s fiber footprint now covers more than 30 million premises. Skiadas reiterated that the pace of Verizon’s fiber network build – in its legacy and new Frontier footprint – will rise to 2 million locations this year. The company has yet to commit to a faster buildout pace in 2027 and beyond.
“We’re not stopping with our fiber build. We’re going to continue,” Skaidas said.
Skaidas noted that Verizon expects to pass 40 million to 50 million homes with fiber “over the medium term” but wasn’t more specific. AT&T, by comparison, is targeting 60 million fiber passings by the end of 2030 through a mix of organic builds and partnerships.
Skaidas said Verizon has a “sense of urgency” to bring a converged product to the newly-acquired Frontier base. Soon after the deal closed, Verizon announced new offerings for residential and business Frontier customers, including a residential-focused promo of four mobile lines for $20 per month, or a single line for $40 per month. Verizon is also pitching in a new iPhone 17 “on us” with each new line, no trade-in required.
Elsewhere, Verizon is also nearing the end of its C-band build for mobile and FWA. About 90% of Verizon’s planned sites are now on that spectrum, with a goal to be “substantially complete” this year, Skiadas said. Verizon has not said if it will participate in the FCC’s upper C-band auction, which is set to take place no later than July 2027.