WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a 8-1 decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to levy fines as part of its enforcement efforts.

The ruling involves massive penalties totaling nearly $200 million that the FCC imposed on Verizon Communications ($47 million), AT&T ($57 million), T-Mobile ($80 million) and other wireless carriers for failing to protect their customers’ location data.

Both Verizon and AT&T appealed the decision, arguing that the FCC’s fines violated their Seventh Amendment rights to a jury trial.

In a June 4 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court found that “the FCC’s forfeiture proceedings fit comfortably within the Court’s Seventh Amendment precedents. The Seventh Amendment ‘preserve[s]’ the right to trial by jury in ‘Suits at common law,’ and applies in all proceedings in which ‘legal rights’ are to be ‘settle[d],’”

“It does not, however, ‘prescribe at what stage’ of a legal dispute “a trial by jury must, if demanded, be had," Roberts wrote. ”The Amendment requires only that, before legal rights and obligations are conclusively ‘ascertained and determined’...a party has the chance to insist that a jury make the ‘ultimate determination of issues of fact’...Consistent with these principles, this Court has upheld nonjury adjudications making initial findings of fact that are subject to de novo review in a subsequent jury trial…Given the similar features of the Commission’s enforcement scheme, the Commission may issue forfeiture orders without the involvement of a jury.”

The court’s decision earlier this year to address the Verizon and AT&T appeals had raised concerns about the FCC’s ongoing ability to impose fines.

In the last two decades, the Supreme Court has steadily chipped away at the legal authority of government regulators, most notably in its 2024 ruling rejecting the doctrine of “Chevron deference,” under which courts were to defer to a regulatory agency’s expertise in interpreting federal laws where Congress’ intent was unclear, and in a second 2024 ruling in Securities & Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. In the SEC case, the Court ruled 6-3 that the securities regulator must bring fraud cases seeking civil penalties to federal court instead of relying on its internal tribunals.

Based on the SEC case, both Verizon and AT&T appealed the fines, arguing the FCC was denying the defendants their right to a jury trial by issuing them.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied that argument in the Verizon case and upheld the fine but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the fines against AT&T.

Following that, Verizon appealed the 2nd Circuit ruling to the Supreme Court and the FCC appealed the AT&T case. The June 4 decision resolved the conflict between the Circuit Court judgments.

In its June 4, ruling the Supreme Court ordered that “the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in No. 25–406 is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opin-ion. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in No. 25–567 is affirmed.”

Justice Clarence Thomas issued a dissenting opinion arguing that the Court was wrong in ruling that the FCC fines were “nonbinding” and therefore did not violate the companies’ right to a jury trial.

“When the Federal Government seeks to deprive a person of property, it must go through an Article III court,” Thomas wrote, citing the SEC v. Jarkesy decision. “That means the regular course of trial proceedings with their usual protections, not the use of ad hoc adjudication procedures before the same agency responsible for prosecuting the law, subject only to hands-off judicial review. Thus, as this Court held in Jarkesy and reaffirms today, agencies can collect penalties only after adjudication in court through a trial de novo.”

In reaction to the opinion, Venable LLP partner and former SEC general counsel Megan Barbero who represented the government in SEC v. Jarkesy said that "the FCC decision reflects an effort by the Court to cabin—at least to some extent—the reach of its decision in SEC v. Jarkesy. The Court interpreted the FCC’s forfeiture orders as non-binding, non-final preliminary determinations of “suspected violations,” stressing that the orders are unenforceable unless the Department of Justice files a suit in district court to recover the penalty. The Court emphasized that, because the telecommunications carriers are entitled to a de novo jury trial on the underlying violation in that enforcement action, the Seventh Amendment was satisfied.

Barbero also explained that "the Supreme Court’s reasoning was based on the FCC statute at issue but likely extends to other agency schemes that similarly result in non-final and non-binding findings that the government must prove to a jury trial before collecting any fine. That may limit the reach of Jarkesy to a point. But the result of the Court’s decision will also limit federal agencies’ practical ability to collect administrative penalties through their administrative processes. Regulated parties under analogous statutory schemes may now feel they have more license to decline to pay administrative penalties assessed by an agency and choose to instead wait for the government to marshal the resources to bring a district court proceeding, which is no small lift for the government."

The full opinion is available here.

WASHINGTON—As the Supreme Court considers a case that could have major implications for the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to impose fines, two former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairs and six non-profit consumer advocacy groups have submitted a friend-of-the-court brief defending the agency.

The filing was made in consolidated cases before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the FCC’s ability to hold wireless carriers accountable for data breaches and other violations of consumer privacy rights.

The cases center around financial penalties issued to four major wireless carriers in 2020 for apparently selling access to their customers’ location information without taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to that information.

The FCC’s investigation uncovered that sensitive location information for tens of millions of the carriers’ customers was made vulnerable. After an investigative process, during which the carriers were given notice and the opportunity to respond, the FCC assessed massive penalties totaling nearly $200 million.

Those fines were imposed on Verizon ($47 million), AT&T ($57 million), T-Mobile ($80 million) and other wireless carriers for failing to protect their customers’ location data.

In response, both Verizon and AT&T filed federal cases that have been consolidated into a case that the Supreme Court agreed to consider in January of 2026.

These appeals are important in the context of a longstanding effort by the Supreme Court to chip away at the authority of regulatory agencies. In a 2024 ruling SCOTUS rejected the doctrine of “Chevron deference,” under which courts were to defer to a regulatory agency’s expertise in interpreting federal laws where Congress’ intent was unclear.

In a second 2024 ruling in Securities & Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Court ruled 6-3 that the securities regulator must bring fraud cases seeking civil penalties to federal court instead of relying on its internal tribunals.

Based on the SEC case, both Verizon and AT&T appealed the fines, arguing the FCC was denying the defendants their right to a jury trial by issuing these fines.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied that argument in the Verizon case and upheld the fine but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the fines against AT&T.

Following that, Verizon appealed the 2nd Circuit ruling to SCOTUS and the FCC appealed the AT&T case. The High Court’s decision to hear the cases together will resolve the conflict between the Circuit Court judgments.

The brief was submitted in FCC v. Verizon and AT&T v. FCC by Democracy Forward on behalf of two former FCC Chairs, Reed Hundt and Tom Wheeler, as well as the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Consumer Reports, the Electronic Information Privacy Center (EPIC), the National Consumer Law Center, the National Consumers League, and Public Knowledge. It stresses both the importance of SCOTUS upholding the fines and the FCC’s ability to levy them.

The Brief noted that the FCC ruling did not deny the wireless carriers a jury trial. Instead of waiting for the FCC to enforce the penalties in a de novo district court trial where a jury would have been available, both Verizon and AT&T sought review in courts of appeals.

“Given the availability of the very thing the carriers complain is missing here—a jury trial—the carriers’ challenge has lost its signal,” the brief notes. “Most notably, the carriers do not deny their wrongdoing here.”

“Consumers do not sign away their privacy when they sign up for wireless service, which is a crucial lifeline in modern society,” added Tom Wheeler, former FCC Chair in a statement announcing the filing of the Brief. “The FCC acted appropriately when they issued these penalties. I am proud to join this brief, and urge the Court to respect the privacy protections Congress put in place.”

“As our personal data has become more insecure than ever, it is critical that we have strong regulators who are equipped to protect us from privacy violations,” added NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud John Breyault in a statement. “Congress made it clear that the FCC’s job is to make sure that consumers’ sensitive telecommunications data is protected. The FCC, across bipartisan administrations, faithfully applied these mandates. The Court should ensure that the Commission continues to have every lever at its disposal to ensure America’s telecom carriers follow the law and to hold them accountable when they fail.”

“The carriers’ constitutional argument, if accepted, would strip the FCC of its core enforcement authority and leave consumers without a meaningful remedy when carriers misuse their most sensitive data or otherwise break the law,” added John Bergmayer, Legal Director of Public Knowledge in a statement. “But as our brief explains, the carriers had the opportunity to contest the FCC’s findings before a jury and walked away from it, choosing instead to attack the foundations of FCC enforcement itself. Their challenge should fail.”

The Brief notes that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires telecommunications carriers to protect the confidentiality of certain customer data related to the provision of telecommunications service, including location information. The FCC’s rules make clear that carriers must take reasonable measures to discover and protect against attempts to gain unauthorized access to this data. The rules also require that carriers or those acting on their behalf generally must obtain consent from a customer before using, disclosing, or allowing access to this data, and further make clear that carriers are liable for the actions of those acting on their behalf.

“A functional democracy relies on holding corporations accountable when they harm or abuse the people they are supposed to serve: their customers,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “These telecom giants are trying to avoid penalties, jeopardizing the ability of the FCC to protect consumers’ private data and hold wrongdoers accountable.”

The friend-of-the-court brief can be found here.

The major Verizon outage on Jan. 14, 2026 should serve as a pivotal moment for anyone who relies on cellular connectivity—whether Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or others—to move voice and data across their networks.

This discussion is aimed primarily at the broadcast industry, which has increasingly leaned on these networks for critical communication in Electronic News Gathering (ENG). Cellular systems now support everything from basic courier coordination and news crew communication to IFB and, more recently, live cameras using various cellular bonding technologies. In my view, the industry has become too dependent on these networks.

Some may say, “What, me worry?” After all, we have dual-SIM phones and multiple carriers built into our bonding systems. Redundancy is good, but it is not enough in a world where so much hinges on cellular connectivity.

Imagine if a major catastrophic event had occurred that same day and news coverage needed to get on the air. Yes, dual-SIM devices might allow you to switch carriers, and bonding systems would try to use whatever networks remain. But you would be competing with other broadcasters, the general public, commercial users, and—most importantly—public safety agencies with priority access. You might get something on the air, but it would be far from guaranteed.

Now imagine something worse: multiple carriers going down simultaneously. In today’s environment, that scenario is not far-fetched and deserves serious consideration.

In recent years, many broadcasters—often guided by finance departments—have reduced or eliminated investments in conventional and legacy broadcast communication systems. With all due respect to those teams, this is a major mistake.

Throughout my career, I consistently pushed back on these cuts because I believed in maintaining these systems for exactly the kind of “doomsday” scenarios we’re now seeing glimpses of. These conversations were never easy, and many times the cuts happened anyway, no matter how firmly I made my case. But the point needed to be made.

Now is the time to reopen that conversation with your finance teams, VPs of Operations/Engineering, and General Managers. The recent outage is a perfect example of why reinvestment is necessary.

If your finance department still doesn’t see the value, you may still have options. If you have existing but underused infrastructure—VHF/UHF communications, microwave systems, satellite trucks—test them regularly and keep them operational.

Low-cost steps you can take now:

Licensing & Compliance

• Verify that your FCC licenses are valid; renew or reapply if needed.
• Ensure older systems still meet FCC compliance requirements.

VHF/UHF & IFB Systems

• Conduct field tests.
• Make repairs or updates as needed, then retest.

ENG Microwave Systems

• Test ENG and satellite vehicles.
• Perform mechanical inspections (engine, generator, tires, etc.).
• Test transmitters, RF camera receivers, and all related systems.
• Inspect NYCOIL and cabling.
• Verify mast operation, seals, and lubrication.
• For satellite trucks, book satellite time to confirm the full uplink chain—encoders, decoders, RF, transponder access, and return visibility at your broadcast center.

ENG Receive Sites

These are often the most critical—and the most neglected—systems.

• Inspect everything, fixed or rotational, from stem to stern.
• Perform full end-to-end tests: field → receive site → studio.

Other Technologies to Consider
Mesh networks, data repeaters, and emerging alternative technologies may offer additional resilience depending on your market and operational needs. Evaluate all available options.

The recent cellular outage is more than an inconvenience — it’s a warning. Use it to strengthen your case before the next disruption becomes something far more serious.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider fines imposed on Verizon Communications and AT&T in two cases that could have a wide-ranging impact on the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to impose fines without a jury trial.

The cases involve massive penalties totaling nearly $200 million that the FCC imposed on Verizon ($47 million), AT&T ($57 million), T-Mobile ($80 million) and other wireless carriers for failing to protect their customers’ location data.

Over the past 15 years, the Supreme Court has been steadily chipping away at the authority of regulatory agencies, most notably in its 2024 ruling rejecting the doctrine of “Chevron deference,” under which courts were to defer to a regulatory agency’s expertise in interpreting federal laws where Congress’ intent was unclear, and in a second 2024 ruling in Securities & Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. In the SEC case, the Court ruled 6-3 that the securities regulator must bring fraud cases seeking civil penalties to federal court instead of relying on its internal tribunals.

Based on the SEC case, both Verizon and AT&T appealed the fines, arguing the FCC was denying the defendants their right to a jury trial by issuing them.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied that argument in the Verizon case and upheld the fine but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the fines against AT&T.

Following that, Verizon appealed the 2nd Circuit ruling to SCOTUS and the FCC appealed the AT&T case. The High Court’s decision to hear the cases together will resolve the conflict between the Circuit Court judgments.

“And the decision below has serious practical consequences, since it deprives the Commission of one of its most important regulatory remedies and severely impairs the agency’s ability to enforce federal communications law,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the government’s petition, according to The Hill.

As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed leader with a median download speed which is approximately double that of AT&T.

5G fixed wireless access (FWA) is a popular and growing broadband option in the U.S. with the top three U.S. FWA providers —T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon — adding 1.04 million new subscribers in Q3 2025 bringing the total number of FWA customers to 14.7 million, which is slightly more than 12.5% of the 117.4 million U.S. households with broadband, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, the Ookla report noted.

According to recent Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data, T-Mobile maintains its FWA leadership position with median download speed of 209.06 Mbps for Q3 2025, which is approximately double that of AT&T’s median download speed of 104.63 Mbps in the same quarter.

The Ookla data indicates, however, that there was a noticeable decline in all three providers’ download and upload speeds during Q2 2025 and Q3 2025, which may be a seasonal pattern as we saw a similar decline in median upload speeds for all three operators in Q2 and Q3 2024 and a decline in download speeds for AT&T and Verizon in Q2 and Q3 2024.

It’s also possible that this may be an early indication that strong uptake in FWA is starting to impact performance, the researchers said.

Key takeaways from the report were:

• Speedtest users from all three U.S. FWA providers—T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T—experienced declines in both their median download and upload speeds during Q2 2025 and Q3 2025.
• AT&T Internet Air’s latency is higher than its peers but it’s improving. In Q3 AT&T’s median latency was 67 milliseconds (ms) compared to Verizon at 54 ms and T-Mobile at 50 ms. However, AT&T’s latency is improving every quarter from a high of 78 ms in Q3 2024.
• AT&T and T-Mobile customers in the 10th percentile of users are experiencing speed declines during peak hours in the late afternoon and evening. Verizon subscribers in the 10th percentile don’t have the same sorts of declines, indicating the operator’s enforcement of speed caps may be helping it deliver a more consistent experience to those customers.
• T-Mobile is the FWA speed leader. T-Mobile’s median download speed of 209.06 Mbps in Q3 2025 is approximately double AT&T’s median download speed of 104.63 Mbps in the same quarter.

More information is available here.

WASHINGTON—In the runup to what could be another blackout of broadcast TV stations, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) has released a statement complaining that a retransmission dispute between Mission Broadcasting and Verizon might result in two stations being dropped from the Fios lineup next week.

Neither Verizon or Mission has commented publicly on the contract, which will expire on Dec. 15 according to The Desk.

The issue of a potential blackout was first raised by ATVA, which is funded by pay TV groups and counts Verizon as a member.

If an agreement is not reached, Verizon customers in Albany, N.Y. could lose access to Mission's WXXA (Fox) in Albany, N.Y. and WNAC (Fox) in Providence, R.I.

In a statement issued Dec. 10, ATVA attacked Mission for demanding “exorbitant retransmission consent fee increases for programming that is free over the air.”

“Mission Broadcasting is the latest broadcaster to threaten TV blackouts for FOX and CW affiliates in key markets while demanding unjustified retransmission fee hikes that raise costs for American consumers,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “These tactics underscore the urgent need for retransmission consent reform and exemplify how broadcasters exploit disruptions to extract excessive profits, sidelining viewers who rely on affordable access to local stations.”

TV Tech has reached out to Mission for comment.

WASHINGTON—With a Dec. 15 deadline looming for a new retransmission consent and carriage deal between Cox and Verizon, the two parties have started trading barbs over negotiating tactics and demands for higher retransmission fees.

If a new agreement isn’t reached, Cox stations WFXT (Fox) in Boston and Rhode Island and WPXI (NBC) in Pittsburgh, and PCNC (Pittsburgh Cable News Channel) could be blacked out.

Cox and Verizon issued similar threats in 2022 before a last minute deal was reached on Dec. 16th for the stations to remain on Verizon Fios.

“We are actively working to reach a fair agreement that puts our customers first,” Verizon said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Cox Media Group has yet to agree to reasonable terms. We are fighting to keep costs down for our customers while ensuring they have access to the NFL, college football, and NBA content they love. We will continue to work toward a reasonable agreement on their behalf.”

In a statement posted on its website, Cox’s WPXI-TV complained that while carriage deals are usually “reached without any disruption" to service “Verizon/Fios has so far refused to enter into fair market carriage deal with CMG for the WPXI programming and services that customers value. Verizon/Fios has an unfortunate pattern of forcing channel blackouts of local TV stations. Because WPXI has yet to secure a carriage deal with Verizon/Fios, you will lose live access to the shows, sports and local news on WPXI, which you rely on and are paying for. We are hopeful Verizon/Fios will abandon its well-worn path of blacking out TV stations and come to the negotiating table with CMG and start negotiating in good faith.”

The website also urged customers to call Verizon to complain and it provided contact information for other operators who will continue to carry the station.

“Despite what you may have heard, this dispute is not about WPXI seeking large fees,” the station insisted. “WPXI is often the highest rated channel on Verizon/Fios. Producing and broadcasting high rated, top-quality programming and being a network affiliate is very expensive. We invest millions of dollars every year in our local news, weather, emergency programming, entertainment content and network affiliations. To keep doing that, we need a fair market deal from Verizon/Fios and all our distributors. We have carriage agreements with every other major cable, telco and satellite company that is carrying WPXI and are seeking to be treated fairly by Verizon/Fios.”

The American Television Alliance (ATVA), which is backed by Verizon and other pay TV providers, has also weighed in.

It issued a statement from spokesman Hunter Wilson saying “Cox Media Group is once again threatening TV blackouts that would remove content from Fox and NBC affiliates in two major markets, demanding excessive retransmission consent fee hikes that leave viewers paying more for the same local programming. This TV blackout would be yet another example of Big Broadcasters leveraging disruption to demand outsized profits at the expense of American consumers.”

The ATVA contends that Broadcasters have levied more than 2,400 TV blackouts and increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 2,000 percent since 2010. Cox Media Group’s TV blackout could impact Verizon customers in Boston, Mass. (WFXT) and Pittsburgh, Pa. (WPXI), jeopardizing their access to regular programs, news and sporting events that they care about, the group said.

UPDATE: Both parties have reached a new carriage agreement.

A deadline is looming for a new carriage deal between Verizon’s Fios TV and Nexstar, with both Verizon and the pay TV-backed American Television Alliance blasting the station group’s demands for what ATA called "exorbitant" price increases.

Gary Weitman, executive vice president and chief communications officer at Nexstar Media Group told TV Tech that "we can confirm our distribution agreement with Verizon is expiring soon. We are in active discussions on a new agreement.” He declined to respond further to the ATA and Verizon statements.

If a deal is not reached when the current agreement expires on October 24, customers could lose access to 14 stations in 10 markets, including ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates carrying high profile sports, and the NewsNation cable channel.

In a note posted on its website, Verizon said that “We are currently in negotiations to reach a fair and reasonable agreement on your behalf so we can continue to offer these channels to you. Unfortunately, we simply cannot agree to the significant price increases they have asked for to date. In the event we are unable to reach an agreement by October 24, 2025, you may lose access to these channels on Fios TV. The rising cost of programming is the single biggest factor in higher TV bills and we are fighting to keep prices reasonable for you.”

In a separate statement issued on October 22, the ATA blasted Nexstar’s demands for what it called “exorbitant retransmission consent fee hikes” and called for regulatory reform to prevent blackouts and price hikes for pay TV customers.

“As families and friends gather to watch Sunday Football, Big Broadcasters are preparing to pull the plug on thousands of pay-TV customers. Rather than watching local news, sports and weather, consumers may soon see a black screen,” said ATVA spokesman Hunter Wilson. “Nexstar Media Group is currently demanding exorbitant retransmission consent fee hikes, using a potential television blackout as ‘deal leverage.’ Clearly, they are more interested in extracting huge profits from pay-TV consumers than giving people the programming they’re already paying for.”

The ATA said the TV blackout could impact Verizon customers in Providence, R.I., Albany, N.Y., Buffalo, N.Y., Syracuse, N.Y., New York, N.Y., Harrisburg, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., and Norfolk, Va., jeopardizing their access to regular programs, news and sporting events, including upcoming NFL games such as the Kansas City Chiefs at the Buffalo Bills (CBS Buffalo) and the Atlanta Falcons at the New England Patriots (CBS Providence).

The ATA also noted that “Big Broadcasters have levied more than 2,400 TV blackouts and increased retransmission consent fees by an overwhelming 2,000 percent since 2010. American consumers continue to pay the price for outdated regulations, allowing broadcasters to continuously weaponize TV blackouts, deliberately targeting live sports and other must-see TV.”

Verizon said that failure to reach an agreement may impact the following channels:

• WAVY (Norfolk): NBC, The Nest, getTV, Defy TV
• WDCW (D.C.): CW, Antenna TV
• WDVM (D.C.): DC News Now, ION Mystery, Rewind TV, ShopLC
• WHTM (Harrisburg): ABC, Grit, Laff
• WIVB (Buffalo): CBS
• WNLO (Buffalo): CW, Rewind TV
• WPHL (Philadelphia): CW, Antenna TV/MyNetwork, Grit, Comet
• WPIX (New York): CW, Antenna TV, Rewind TV
• WPRI (Providence): CBS, MyNetwork, True Crime Network, Defy TV
• WRIC (Richmond): ABC, Rewind TV, COZI TV, Laff
• WSYR (Syracuse): ABC, Antenna TV, Bounce TV
• WTEN (Albany): ABC, COZI TV, Antenna TV, ION Mystery
• WTNH (Greenwich): ABC
• WVBT (Norfolk): FOX, CW, Rewind TV, COZI TV
• NewsNation

WASHINGTON—The FCC has approved Verizon Communications’ $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications, which was first announced last September. As part of the FCC’s decision to grant a series of applications that transfer licenses and authorizations, New York-based Verizon will be required to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The approval agreement also secures Verizon’s commitment to make major upgrades to Frontier's infrastructure that the FCC valued as being worth “billions” of dollars and promises to improve conditions for tower and telecom crews.

The deal is expected to close in early 2026. The acquisition adds the nation's “largest pure-play fiber internet provider” to Verizon's portfolio.

After President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order eliminating DEI programs at federal agencies, FCC chair Brendan Carr ended those programs at the FCC and said he would make eliminating such programs part of the approval process for mergers. Carr has also launched investigations into DEI practices at The Walt Disney Co. and Comcast.

“By approving this deal, the FCC ensures that Americans will benefit from a series of good and common-sense wins,” Carr said in a statement. “The transaction will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country—including rural America. This investment will accelerate the transition away from old, copper line networks to modern, high-speed ones. And it delivers for America’s tower and telecom crews who do the hard, often gritty work needed to build high-speed networks.”

In a post on X, Carr released the Verizon letter agreeing to end its DEI programs.

At this week's 2025 NAB show, Verizon Business is showing what it is calling “a first-of-its-kind mobile Private 5G Network framework” featuring a portable, environmentally controlled setup that will allow broadcasters to manage complex productions.

The solution, which is being demoed by Verizon Business (Booth W#2530) during the show, is designed to help broadcasters face the challenge of managing dozens of camera feeds during a live event while constantly struggling with location-based connectivity.

The mobile environmentally controlled setup is built on NVIDIA accelerated computing, including NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NVIDIA Holoscan for Media. These solutions provide intelligent video prioritization for live production using AI to manage numerous camera feeds and highlight key moments, the companies reported.

Verizon had previously announced it would partner with NVIDIA to manage and power 5G workloads.

The combined mobile framework can be deployed to leverage different types of spectrum, including C-band, CBRS, and millimeter wave.

Verizon reported that the Verizon mobile framework came to life with key partners including FanDuel TV, Haivision, and Ericsson.

"Live content production and experiential events are evolving rapidly, demanding innovative approaches to content creation, distribution, and fan engagement,” said Daniel Lawson, senior vice president of global solutions, Verizon Business. “We are demonstrating at NAB 2025 how our Private 5G Network, coupled with Enterprise AI solutions, enables more efficient, cost-effective broadcast workflows. Our first-of-its-kind mobile framework is a testament to our commitment to innovation and our dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving demands of the industry.”

During the show, Verizon also reported that it will have a strong presence on panels and sessions, including:

• Saturday, April 5, 12 p.m. PT, at the NAB Main Stage, Verizon’s Daniel Lawson, SVP, Global Solutions will deliver the Opening Remarks for the 2025 Devoncroft Executive Summit
• Monday, April 7, 12 p.m. PT, at W222-W223, ErinRose Widner, Global Head of Business Strategy, Media & Entertainment, Verizon Business will lead a panel: AI on Location: Deploying Private Networks and Edge Compute for Next Gen Production Workflows’
• Monday, April 7, 2 p.m. PT, at W1768 Theater 1, Tim Stevens, Global Leader of Strategic Innovation, Verizon Business will discuss ‘Unplugging Sports: The Private Wireless Revolution’

A new study of fixed wireless access (FWA) providers and their internet access speeds shows that operators continue to improve their speeds, with T-Mobile’s median download speeds increasing by more than 50% from 134.99 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 205.44 Mbps in Q4 2024, according to Ookla.

The analysis found that AT&T’s Internet Air FWA customers experienced strong median download speeds of 150.47 Mbps as of Q4 2024.

Verizon, which has more than 4.3 million FWA subscribers, saw its median download speed rise more than 12% from 132.55 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 150.47 Mbps in Q4 2024.

“5G fixed wireless access (FWA) has steadily gained popularity in the U.S. over the past four years and now the service has more than 11.5 million subscribers —and that’s just counting the FWA subscribers from the big three nationwide operators,” explained Sue Marek, Ookla’s editorial director and part of the company’s analyst team “Today FWA is considered a viable broadband competitor, and its traction with customers has caused many cable operators to lose customers to FWA.”

Marek also reported that the study also found improved Upload speeds, which are becoming increasingly important to consumers and remote workers. “Our data shows that median FWA upload speeds increased from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024 with T-Mobile’s upload speeds consistently outpacing the competition,” Marek noted. “T-Mobile’s upload speed increased 9.05% from 19.88 Mbps in Q4 2023 to 21.68 Mbps in Q4 2024.”

FWA operators, however, saw less improvement in the area of latency, which is important for streaming live events and gaming.

“Unlike FWA upload and download speeds that have improved from Q4 2023 until Q4 2024, latency figures have remained somewhat static for Verizon and AT&T while T-Mobile’s latency has declined,” Marek wrote. “Latency is a key measurement because higher latency will impact real-time applications such as online gaming and video conferencing.”

More data and the full article is available here.

The media and entertainment landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by emerging technologies that are redefining how content is created, delivered, and consumed. As we look ahead, several key technologies are set to have a major impact on the industry.

5G: The Foundation for Innovation
5G's incredible speeds and low latency will usher in a new era of individualized experiences. From real-time interactions and personalized content to extended reality (XR) applications that blend the physical and digital worlds, 5G will reshape audience engagement with content. Consumer device manufacturers are focused on untethered connectivity with personalized experiences.

AI and Machine Learning: Powering Content Creation
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are poised to revolutionize content production and consumption. By automating tasks, analyzing viewer preferences, and generating curated recommendations, these technologies will empower media companies to deliver bespoke experiences that truly resonate with viewers.

Additionally, AI-driven tools will streamline content creation processes, enabling the rapid development of highlights, summaries, and other content formats tailored to specific audience segments. Think about a shift from one piece of content for everyone’s consumption to unique content for specific segments, down to the individual consumer.

Extended Reality (XR): Transforming the Viewer Experience
XR, encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), will continue to redefine how we experience media and entertainment. From attending virtual concerts and sporting events, to airline flights with custom XR experiences, to interacting with digital elements that enhance live performances, XR will create unprecedented levels of immersion and engagement outside the home.

The 5G Stadium: A New Era for Fans
5G will also revolutionize the live event experience. In stadiums, fans will enjoy seamless streaming, instant replays from various angles, and interactive experiences such as real-time stats and player perspectives.

AR overlays will provide real-time player information and historical context, enriching the viewing experience and opening up new avenues for fan engagement. Furthermore, 5G will enable connectivity for a wider array of devices, amplifying the overall stadium experience.

Edge Computing: Real-Time Content, Everywhere
Edge computing benefits from the inflection point where bandwidth and throughput have become ubiquitous. It is the combination of low-latency, server in the cell approach that enables data processing closer to the origin, that facilitates real-time content creation and delivery with almost no delays.

This will empower creators to provide live, high-quality experiences to audiences irrespective of their location. For venues and retailers, edge computing will also enhance wayfinding and other location-based services, elevating the customer experience.

Personalization and Immersion: The Future of Media
As consumer expectations continue to rise, media and entertainment companies are adapting to the growing demand for personalized, immersive experiences.

By harnessing the power of 5G and other emerging technologies, they can deliver tailored content and craft interactive environments that cater to individual preferences. From AR-powered wayfinding in retail spaces to VR experiences that transport fans to the sidelines of their favorite sporting events, the possibilities are boundless.

Connectivity is moving outside of the tethered cell phone to direct connected 5G-enabled high end IoT devices, the still camera, video camera, televisions, over the top playout devices, health wearables, real-time coaching, and many more that will come to market.

The future of media and entertainment is being shaped by rapid technological advancements. It’s becoming a story about interactivity and personalization, not just consumption of content. 5G, AI, XR, and edge computing are just a few of the technologies that are set to redefine the industry in the coming years.

It is the two-way nature of connectivity that enables this transformation and new market opportunity. By embracing these innovations, media companies can deliver captivating experiences that meet the evolving expectations of today's consumers.

WALTHAM, Mass.—Zixi has announced a co-sell agreement with Verizon, coupling their network infrastructure with Zixi's live IP video software-defined solutions to deliver solutions for live linear and live event workflows across the media supply chain.

Zixi's SDVP is an innovative solution for provisioning, orchestrating and managing live video on 5G or any IP network. 

With the agreement, users can now deploy Zixi Broadcasters using Zixi ZEN Master and have access to comprehensive telemetry data on the network, transport, intra-cloud delivery, and associated edge devices in the end-to-end workflow. The powerful ZEN Master control plane enables users to help manage large-scale configurations to orchestrate, analyze, monitor, alert, and report on live video streams and devices across the Zixi Enabled Network of customers, integrated devices, and platforms and service providers standardized on Zixi. Powerful workflows include advanced GPU accelerated live transcoding, Zixi-patented sequenced hitless failover, connection bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, enhanced visualization, and centralized management of live channels and live events.

The partnership enables Verizon field sales to deliver to the customer base a software-defined solution set consisting of the Zixi Broadcaster, ZEN Master control plane and Zixi Live Transcoding, allowing Verizon to extend the edge of its network and allow M&E clients to scale at compute, transmission and operational levels, the companies said. 

The companies also reported that the partnership will help the M&E migration to IP and cloud-based workflows and away from satellite and other legacy methods while maintaining or exceeding broadcast levels of Quality of Service (QoS) and performance SLAs with lower latency. This becomes critical as the number of business partners involved in the media supply chain continues to grow exponentially, and content owners compete for audience share and drive new business models that innovate the programming lines of monetization while delivering a high Quality of Experience (QoE), the companies explained. 

Zixi’s software-defined solution, with its high efficiency, reduced infrastructure requirements, bandwidth optimization, and transport stream egress cost reduction, helps open new possibilities for the industry’s growth, innovation and enhanced video streaming experiences. 

“The breadth of Verizon network services and solutions coupled with the Zixi SDVP creates a winning combination of transport services, reliability and ease of use,” said Tim Stevens, global leader, strategic innovation, media & entertainment, Verizon. “By collaborating with a complex, next-generation provider like Zixi we are able to provide complex, next-generation solutions across the ecosystem enabling Verizon to deliver on our mission to help organizations improve performance and realize value faster.”

“Working closely with Verizon, we are bringing the industry an excellent 5G solution for live linear and event-based video use cases,” said Eric Bolten, vice president business development, Zixi. “The Verizon/Zixi solution set is a comprehensive Software-Defined Video Network fabric that coupled with Verizon’s world-class MEC network, allows media and entertainment customers a reliable and scalable offering across the media supply-chain as the live video market continues to rapidly evolve.”

HUNT VALLEY, Md.—Sinclair, Inc. has announced that the company has reached a comprehensive multi-year distribution agreement with Verizon for carriage of its stations and networks on FiOS TV. 

The agreement covers local television stations in 10 markets, the Tennis Channel and YES Network.

“We are pleased to have reached a renewal agreement with Verizon without any disruption in service to viewers, keeping our best-in class news, sports and entertainment content available on the platform for years to come,” said Will Bell, Sinclair’s senior vice president and head of distribution and network relations in a statement regarding the agreement.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The direct-to-consumer revolution is not only transforming the consumer experience, but it’s also transforming how content is backhauled. The rapid expansion of high-definition video and livestreaming adds to the challenge of that transition. As such, more of an emphasis will be placed on producing anywhere and lowering latency in 2024. 

The Complexity of Multicloud Environments
Cloud adoption had already been steadily climbing in the decade leading up to 2020, but during the lockdown it skyrocketed, owing in no small part to the need for remote collaboration across the media and entertainment supply chain. The benefits include tremendous flexibility, accessibility, processing power, affordable storage, and efficient collaboration on the production side, from editing to sound to animation. The advantages are great, which is why we’ll certainly see continued growth in cloud adoption in 2024, but there are associated challenges. 

The architectural complexity of multicloud environments is hard to manage. Engineers can more easily familiarize themselves with a single cloud environment, which is simpler to mold to the needs of an organization. The more technologies are incorporated, the more of an undertaking implementation becomes, leading to delays, increased costs and more troubleshooting. 

Additionally, managing a growing roster of SaaS providers has become more of a burden. As such, companies will increasingly look to partners that can offer multiple solutions on one platform as a way to reduce costs, boost productivity and streamline operations. 

The explosion of FAST Channels, IP delivery, OTT and other bandwidth-intensive advancements only complicates matters further. As a result, companies will increasingly invest in technologies and solutions that will help address those capacity challenges. Edge technology, for example, enables organizations to process and analyze data much faster, while potentially bolstering security by reducing the distance that data travels from the production to the end consumer. 

The Cybersecurity Challenge of a Decentralized Supply Chain
In 2017, hackers obtained the files of the yet-to-be-released fifth season of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. Even though Netflix refused to comply with the ransom, the PR fiasco served as a reminder for the media and entertainment industry: Your cybersecurity is only as strong as your weakest link. 

In this case Netflix felt the experience they already provided consumers was better than what any hacker could provide. As details emerged hackers didn’t steal the files directly from Netflix. They stole it from a post-production company working on Netflix’s signature series.

The decentralized nature of the media and entertainment industry means that exposure is often interconnected. Media and entertainment companies engage with a wide variety of third-party providers, particularly on big productions, which can include special effects, animation, sound, graphics, so on and so forth. 

With so much data and intellectual property outsourced across a constellation of players, which may include smaller production studios, freelancers and other contractors, it can be difficult limiting the number of people who have access to business-critical information. Some vendors may be specialty studios that lack the resources for dedicated security personnel, which could effectively serve as a backdoor for hackers to obtain valuable data that wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get. 

The In-venue Use Case
With more valuable content on the cloud, therefore, the need for robust cybersecurity solutions has emerged as a priority for the industry—a trend that will only accelerate in the following year. While investing in threat detection and perimeter security solutions goes a long way toward mitigating risk, how these organizations structure their networks will have a big impact on security. Consider the in-venue example. 

Historically, venues have posed challenges both for venue operators and consumers with regard to internet access. Anyone who’s been to a large sporting event or concert, for example, can testify to the difficulty of accessing the internet. There’s just too many people trying to gain access at the same time—and often with highly bandwidth-intensive activities like livestreaming. Couple that with high-resolution video, interactive experiences, and broadcasting and/or livestreaming production setups on the venue side, and the bandwidth demands skyrocket. 

As a result, more and more venue operators are investing in private networks, which deliver greater capacity, speed and security. Connecting a MEC solution to the private 5G network can accommodate applications with a requirement for ultra-low latency and can provide greater support for differentiated experiences, onsite analytics and AI applications. 

Controlling data and IP in 2024
This year, media and entertainment companies will continue to invest in IP connectivity, cloud, Edge and private network solutions. They’ll continue to invest in 5G because it provides the capacity they need to process and analyze large amounts of data. Investing in capacity and speed leads to more responsive systems and applications.

Keeping more data onsite and on the Edge generally helps reduce the security risk. Media and entertainment companies will seek tighter control of their network in the face of continuing threats and industry flux.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY—As subscriber numbers for 5G wireless home internet services continue to spike,  with fixed wireless providers reporting record growth in Q3 2023, a new survey from Horowitz Research finds that consumer satisfaction with the technology is strong and that it is posing a competitive threat to traditional broadband providers. 

“5G wireless home internet is definitely a competitive threat to traditional fixed-line broadband providers as consumers look to trim costs for reliable internet, which is now an essential utility,” notes Adriana Waterston, executive vice president and insights and strategy lead for Horowitz Research. “The novelty of being able to try out a new, alternative provider, combined with the trust people already have in mobile brands like Verizon and T-Mobile, are forcing traditional ISPs into a defensive position. This competitive environment will be a win for consumers. We anticipate this will drive internet prices down and quality up while all providers focus on delivering the most reliable home internet service for the best value in order to attract and retain customers.”

The findings are part of the new Horowitz “State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Disruptions 2023” study, which looks at consumer attitudes towards and adoption of disruptive technologies, including 5G wireless home internet.

It found that 5G wireless home internet has become available in more and more markets across the United States in the past two years and that awareness of the technology is growing. 

One in four (23%) consumers surveyed who do not have the service say they “know a lot” about it, with awareness highest among younger and urban consumers.

Moreover, satisfaction with 5G wireless home internet is high, Horowitz found. 

The Horowitz study finds that about 2 in 3 subscribers (67%) of the service – offered by mobile providers such as T-Mobile and Verizon in their 5G coverage areas – say that their Wi-Fi covers all the areas of their homes better than traditional broadband. In comparison, less than 1 in 10 (7%) consumers with 5G agree that traditional broadband is better, while an additional 2 in 10 feel that 5G service is about the same as broadband. It also gets higher ratings than traditional ISPs for “value for the money.”

Though penetration of 5G wireless home internet across the United States overall is low — at 3%, according to the Horowitz study — penetration is much higher in markets where the service is actually available. 

As mobile providers expand their 5G home internet coverage areas, the study also found that consumers are bullish about these services. Half (49%) of TV content viewers surveyed by Horowitz Research who do not have 5G wireless home internet service say that they are likely or very likely to consider subscribing when it becomes available in their area.

The full State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Disruptions 2023 report tracks the evolving market for new and potentially disruptive technologies that could be game-changers, including over-the-air (OTA) antennas, wireless 5G home internet services, and piracy and password sharing. The survey was conducted in September 2023 among 1531 adults 18+ who have a role in decisions regarding TV and internet services in the home. Data have been weighed to ensure results are representative of the overall U.S. population. The report is available in total in FOCUS Latinx, FOCUS Black, and FOCUS Asian editions.

For more information about the State of Media, Entertainment, and Tech: Disruptions 2023 report, is available here. 

NEW YORK—Verizon has announced a first-of-its-kind discounted streaming bundle of Netflix and Max for the subscribers of its myPlan offering. 

Starting December 7 ad-supported services from Netflix and Max will be offered together for Verizon's myPlan customers for just $10 per month, which Verizon says amounts to a 40% savings. 

The Netflix & Max (with ads) bundle is among ten $10 monthly perks available to Verizon customers through myPlan. Verizon's myPlan allows customers choose which perks they want to add to their unlimited plans for $10 per month for each perk. 

That means customers can get two content bundles with myPlan perks–the Disney Bundle and the Netflix & Max (with ads) bundle—for a total of five streaming services for just $20 per month, Verizon said. 

“Customers want unbeatable offers from top partners that deliver the best services and experiences they want, and on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Frank Boulben, chief revenue officer, Verizon Consumer Group. “With these only for Verizon deals and first-of-its-kind bundled content offers you can get through myPlan, there’s never been a better time to be a Verizon customer.”

Hunter Terry, Head of CTV at data solutions company Lotame says Verizon's move is a sign of the times.

"Bundling is a natural evolution to combat the fear of subscriber churn from streaming companies," Terry said. "In an era where a consumer could go an entire lifetime binge-watching without finishing a full library of content, subscription fatigue is real.

 "Why spend $10-30 a month for three or more streaming services, to see movies and shows that you will never watch?," he added. "Now is a time consumers are reevaluating what makes the cut in their lives. As such, streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Max, Paramount+ are constantly focused on churn reduction. Bundling is one way to overcome this challenge by making it more accessible and more affordable for consumers to sign up to multiple platforms.

"It may not be the end-all-be-all, but it is a valid strategy for these companies to explore. And for cable companies like Verizon who are feeling the crunch of subscriber loss even more than the cutting-edge streaming services, this partnership could represent a glimmer of hope for their future."

DURHAM, N.H.—Leichtman Research Group has released new data that shows record growth in the number of subscribers to fixed wireless broadband services, further strengthening the competitive position of wireless carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon in the broadband market. 

LRG found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S. – representing about 96% of the market – acquired about 950,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 3Q 2023, compared to a pro forma gain of about 865,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022.

Almost all of that growth, however, went to T-Mobile's and Verizon’s fixed wireless services. 

Fixed wireless/5G home Internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon added about 940,000 subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared to 920,000 net adds in 3Q 2022. 

In sharp contrast, the top cable companies added about 5,000 subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared to a gain of about 45,000 in 3Q 2022 and the top wireline phone companies added about 5,000 total broadband subscribers in 3Q 2023 – compared to about 100,000 net losses in 3Q 2022.

Wireline telcos had about 525,000 net adds via fiber in 3Q 2023, and about 520,000 non-fiber net losses.

“Top broadband providers added about 950,000 subscribers in 3Q 2023, largely attributable to the most quarterly net adds ever for fixed wireless services,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc.  “Over the past year, fixed wireless services have accounted for 101% of the approximately 3,625,000 net broadband additions.”

Overall, the country’s top broadband providers now account for 113.9 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 76.2 million broadband subscribers, top wireline phone companies having about 30.7 million subscribers, and top fixed wireless services having about 6.9 million subscribers.

The top broadband providers at the end of Q3, 2023 include Comcast (32,287,000 subs, down 18,000 in Q3); Charter (30,649,000 up 63,000); AT&T (15,296,000 wireless subs, down 8,000); Verizon (7,612,000 wireline subs, up 50,000). T–Mobile’s fixed wireless service had 4,235,000 (up 557,000 in Q3) and Verizon has 2,679,000 fixed wireless subs (up 384,000.)

MONTRÉAL—In a development that could have important implications for tech collaboration and even TV news, Bell Canada, Verizon, Vodafone and Matsuko announced that they successfully conducted the first live transatlantic holographic collaborative meeting. The meeting connected multiple holographic people in Canada, the US and the UK using 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology.

The participants said that interacting with holograms of humans rather than avatars can provide a more personal experience for many applications such as remote healthcare, collaborative working, and education but the technology could also be applied to television news, tech collaborations or even live events streamed to users of virtual technologies. 

The call was enabled by the speed of 5G combined with the quick response times of MEC, which moves the necessary computing closer to the edge of the network. This ensures a more reliable and consistent hologram by removing delays resulting from multiple hops between different locations and across the internet.

Holograms of employees located in three different countries were connected from Toronto, Canada, using Bell's 5G network; New York in the US using Verizon's 5G network; and from London, UK, using Vodafone's 5G network. They were created using Matsuko's real-time software and just a single camera and were then streamed thanks to spatial computing, an immersive technology which combines virtual and augmented reality. Matsuko's patented technology uses its presence app on a smartphone coupled with a XR (Extended Reality) headset to stream holograms instantly, creating the feeling that people are in the same room as you.

"Through its active participation in the 5GFF, Bell continues to support the developer community to access 5G MEC technologies and to ensure their solutions take full advantage of Bell's 5G network in Canada, and to interoperate globally," said Bell's Costa Pantazopoulos, vice president of product. "This holographic video meeting demo illustrates how Bell - with partners Verizon and Vodafone - is making it easier for developers to leverage 5G capabilities to innovate and achieve their application goals."

"This demonstration shows how Verizon via the 5GFF continues to drive Open API industry momentum with real-life use cases while also accelerating ease of use for developers," added John Nitti, senior vice president of strategy, new business and partner development for Verizon.

The smooth and natural movement of these holograms will become more prevalent with the growing availability of 5G and edge computing technology,” predicted Giorgio Migliarina, Vodafone group director of business products and services. 

Bell Canada, Verizon and Vodafone came together under the auspices of industry body, the 5G Future Forum (5GFF) for this first-of-its-kind demonstration. They are showing the transatlantic conference meeting and the technology behind it at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Las Vegas (Booth #1533, located in GSMAs Open Gateway Zone).

Matsuko was able to connect to the fast 5G networks of Bell Canada, Verizon, and Vodafone by using 5GFF's Application Programmable Interface (API) – called 5GFF's Edge Discovery API – which allows developers and ISVs like Matsuko to discover the nearest edge to their end users, so their applications perform optimally with a consistent service across mobile networks. Network APIs are a set of interfaces based on industry-wide open standards that allow developers to plug into and use the low-latency benefits, speed, and scale of 5G and MEC.

5GFF also said that it is inviting independent software vendors (ISVs) globally, who either currently use 5G MEC or have it on their development roadmap, to apply to join the organization's acceleration program and work closely with some of the world's leading telecommunications companies to shape the API development process. The program is designed to expand and interconnect the global MEC ecosystem by partnering and engaging with developers.

In addition, the 5GFF works closely with GSMA's Open Gateway initiative, which launched earlier this year and now has over 30 signatories. Open Gateway is a framework of common network APIs designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers and works closely with Linux Foundation's CAMARA which develops API specifications.

For more information, visit https://www.5gff.org/5g-mec-acceleration-program/.  

DURHAM, N.H.—Broadband internet subscription growth was fairly flat for Q3 2022 as churn kept numbers down, however new fixed wireless services now on the market are helping to stem the bleeding, according to a new report from Leichtman Research Group.

LRG found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S.—representing about 96% of the market—acquired about 825,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 3Q 2022, similar to a pro forma gain of about 820,000 subscribers in 3Q 2021.  These top broadband providers account for about 110.8 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subscribers, top wireline phone companies having over 32 million subscribers, and top fixed wireless services having about 3.2 million subscribers.

Overall, LRG reports that broadband additions doubled in 3Q 2022, compared to 3Q 2021, with top cable companies adding about 40,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022—compared to about 590,000 net adds in 3Q 2021. The top wireline phone companies lost about 135,000 total broadband subscribers in 3Q 2022—compared to about 40,000 net adds in 3Q 2021 and wireline telcos had about 550,000 net adds via fiber in 3Q 2022, and about 685,000 non-fiber net losses.

As expected, the growth of fixed wireless/5G home internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon helped keep numbers up, as both companies more than tripled their subscriber count, adding about 920,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022, compared to about 190,000 net adds in 3Q 2021, LRG said.

“Top broadband providers added about 825,000 subscribers in 3Q 2022, including 920,000 net adds for fixed wireless services, along with a minor gain for cable, and net losses for wireline phone providers,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc.  “Over the past year, fixed wireless services have accounted for nearly 80% of the approximately 3,260,000 net broadband additions.”

NEW YORK—Verizon has joined the ranks of pay TV operators offering consumers new streaming devices by launching a new Fios TV device that lets users watch live TV, On Demand content and all of their favorite streaming apps on one device.

Verizon has not released pricing for the device and it is currently available only with a 2Gbps broadband plan that is not widely available. But the device will get a wider rollout in 2023. 

Comcast, Charter and a number of other operators have also rolled out streaming devices to target a growing number of cord-cutters and cord-nevers who subscribe to broadband plans but not pay TV packages and to retain existing pay TV subscribers who also spend a significant amount of time streaming video. 

Verizon, like other operators, is billing the Fios TV device as a way for consumers to bring together all their content, including live TV, VOD and streaming apps, into one interface and help consumers avoid the problem of having to switch between boxes and interfaces to access content. 

The new Fios TV app is also easily customizable and allows users to control it via voice or an android phone. 

NEW YORK—NBCUniversal Content Distribution and Verizon have announced a first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience on Verizon set top boxes for NBC’s hit series “La Brea” that will allow viewers to interact with the La Brea sinkhole to reveal classic objects from the television series, including the iconic Wilshire Boulevard Street sign and a baby rhino. 

Fans ultimately will be rewarded with an exclusive deleted scene from the series.

“Innovative experiences and breakthrough technologies like AR are critical to driving deeper fan engagement on partner platforms,” said Matt Schnaars, president, NBCUniversal Content Distribution. “We’re grateful for our partnership with Verizon and our work creating immersive experiences for fans to interact with our premiere entertainment programming.”

Customers can access the "La Brea" experience on their Verizon set top box by tuning into channel 941 using their remote control or via the channel guide. From there, users can scan a QR code from their mobile device to launch the experience.

The "La Brea" experience was brought to life through Trigger XR, an award-winning XR developer studio and creative agency.

NBCUniversal Content Distribution and Verizon previously partnered on Olympic Tentpole Apps for the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. The bespoke content destinations featured Olympic videos on demand, discovery and navigation features, personalization by sport, and up-to-date standings by sport.

"Verizon and NBC are changing the way fans consume entertainment with never-before-seen types of AR experiences," said Erin McPherson, Verizon chief content officer. "We're thrilled to bring next gen storytelling to Fios viewers and excited to push the boundaries for our consumers."

IRVING, TX and NEW YORK CITY—Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and Verizon FiOS have reached a comprehensive multi-year distribution agreement that will restore local television stations in 10 markets and Nexstar’s national cable news network, NewsNation to the Verizon FioS line-up.   

These 13 local television stations and related cable and multi-cast networks had been off of Verizon’s  platform system since October 14 at midnight when the two companies were unable to come to terms on a new carriage agreement.  

The deal means that more than three million Verizon FiOS subscribers will again have access to the  network and local entertainment, live sports, and news programming provided by these local  television stations and by NewsNation. 

The agreement also means that Verizon subscribers won’t miss the start of Major  League Baseball’s World Series, which begins tonight, or any of this weekend’s college and NFL Football  games, the companies said. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Common Cause has commended Verizon for its decision to drop One America News Network from its channel line-up at the end of July. 

The decision by DirecTV to drop OAN earlier this year and Verizon’s decision not to renew carriage, means that no major pay TV outlet will be carrying the conservative news network, which has been under fire for  promoting false and misleading information about the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of the 2020 election, and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

Conversative news organizations OAN, Fox News and Newsmax also face a billion-dollar libel lawsuit brought by the Dominion Voting Systems and OAN faces a separate libel suit from Smartmatic, another maker of voting machines. 

Common Cause and a coalition of civil-rights, human-rights and media-justice organizations have pushed the major carriers to drop OANN since 2021. Last year, the coalition organized a letter to the CEOs of AT&T and DirecTV urging their companies to sever business ties with the network. After more than 170,000 people signed a petition calling on AT&T and DirectTV to cut all ties with OANN,  DirecTV dropped the channel from its lineup.

“With the move by Verizon Fios, One America News Network will be left without a major carrier to spread its often harmful and dangerous disinformation and baseless conspiracy theories,” said Yosef Getachew, Common Cause Media and Democracy program director. “This is a welcome change but long overdue. OANN has spread lies that have hindered U.S. efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, undermined Americans’ faith in our elections, and fed the Big Lie narrative that led to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. We hope those remaining small pay-tv providers and streaming services still carrying OANN will follow suit and deprive the outlet of any platform to spread harmful conspiracy theories that have done real world harm. No company should profit from spreading content that endangers our democracy."

NEW YORK—Verizon has announced that it has started deployments with 100 MHz of C-band spectrum in many markets across the US – a significant increase from the 60 MHz it has deployed in 5G markets to date.

The upgrade is notable not only because it will increase speeds for 5G mobile customers. Verizon also aims to use the increased speeds and capacity to become a formidable competitor to traditional home broadband services in new markets across the country. 

In the recent trial, using 100 MHz of C-band spectrum, engineers were able to reach 1.4 Gbps peak download speeds near active cell sites and 500 Mbps further away from the towers.

As more spectrum is cleared in the coming months and years, customers ultimately will have access to between 140-200 MHZ across the nation, Verizon said. 

“This increase from using 60MHz to 100 MHz of C-band – which we will ultimately have available in many markets across the US – allows us to support more network traffic, deliver even better performance to our customers and add new products and services on top of the mobile and fixed wireless access solutions we provide today,” said Kyle Malady, executive vice president and president, Global Networks and Technology at Verizon. “Reaching new levels of innovation and digital transformation in our society requires a fundamental transformation of the networks our world runs on. The continued evolution of our network is paving the way for this tremendous growth.”

This additional spectrum is being made available to customers in certain markets several months earlier than projected due to agreements with satellite providers to clear C-Band spectrum (which was originally scheduled to be cleared in December 2023). 

WASHINGTON—The FCC this week introduced new regulations designed to improve the reliability and resiliency of mobile wireless networks during times of disasters and other emergencies. Spurred on by recent events in the past year such as Hurricane Ida, the earthquakes in Puerto Rico and winter storms in Texas and the ongoing wildfires in the West, the new rules leverage the industry-developed Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework as a starting point for introducing the commission’s "Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative". 

The commission’s actions effectively codify the Framework’s five substantive provisions as mandatory, extends the reach of the provisions to all facilities-based mobile wireless providers, expands the real-world criteria that trigger activation of the MDRI and introduces new provisions requiring providers to test their roaming capabilities and report on the performance of their implementation of the MDRI to the commission after disaster events. 

“The action we take today breaks new ground in ways that will further improve the resiliency of our communications networks in response to the record received on the Resilient Networks Notice and in light of the need to achieve near-term benefits in anticipation of future disaster events,” the FCC said in its Report and Order. “At the same time, much remains to be done to ensure that our communications networks achieve their full potential as critical lifelines for those in need during times of emergency.” 

When the Framework—which is a voluntary agreement among the nation’s largest wireless carriers, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile—was announced in 2016, the FCC endorsed the move in lieu of a mandatory regulatory regime at the time. It commits its participants to a five-pronged approach to enhance coordination during an emergency by:

• Providing for reasonable roaming under disaster arrangements (RuDs) when technically feasible;
• Fostering mutual aid among wireless providers during emergencies;
• Enhancing municipal preparedness and restoration by convening with local government public safety representatives to develop best practices, and establishing a provider/PSAP contact database;
• Increasing consumer readiness and preparation through development and dissemination with consumer groups of a Consumer Readiness Checklist; and
• Improving public awareness and stakeholder communications on service and restoration status, through Commission posting of data on cell site outages on an aggregated, county-by-county basis in the relevant area through its Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).

This week’s announcement extends the Framework to all mobile wireless providers and rejects suggestions that smaller facilities be exempted. “We recognize the merits of the current Framework and agree with the commenters who argue that its provisions would be more effective if they were expanded to include entities beyond the Framework’s current signatories,” the FCC said. “We reject the views of the CCA and NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) that smaller providers should be excepted from today’s rules because they need to prioritize work on their own networks or lack the resources required for compliance in the midst of emergencies.  We find that, as a practical matter, such concerns can be mitigated.”

The new rules will also require each facilities-based mobile wireless provider to enter into bilateral roaming agreements with all other facilities-based mobile wireless providers from which it may expect to request roaming privileges and that such agreements be executed and in place no later than the compliance date for the MDRI.

“This advance planning will allow, for example, time for the providers subject to the agreement to undertake initial testing and confirm that the roaming functionality works as intended and/or take remediation steps to address technical issues prior to the actual onset of a disaster or emergency event, as well as to swiftly implement roaming when the MDRI is triggered,” the commission said.

The commission also agreed with NCTA and Verizon for the need for continuous testing to ensure disaster preparedness, including testing of bilateral roaming capabilities.  “We find that bilateral testing will ensure that providers spend time optimizing, debugging and diagnosing their networks well in advance of emergencies, ensuring that these networks roam as effectively as possible when a disaster strikes, ultimately saving lives and property,” the commission said.

In determining when the MDRI is to be triggered during an emergency, the FCC acknowledged the Public Safety and Homeland Security’s role in responding to state requests. 

“We find that the public interest supports a rule that the MDRI is triggered when either ESF-2 or DIRS is activated, or when the Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announces that the MDRI is activated in response to a request received from a state in conjunction with the state activating its Emergency Operations Center, activating mutual aid, or proclaiming a local state of emergency,” the FCC said. “As such, we delegate to the Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau the authority to issue a public notice effectuating the MDRI under these circumstances, and to prescribe any mechanisms for receiving such a request.” 

In terms of the financial burdens on mobile wireless carriers, the commission noted that many of the costs associated with upgrading facilities have already been undertaken and in the end, will be worth it. “We find that the incremental costs to the nation’s facilities-based mobile wireless providers for codifying the Framework in today’s MDRI rules will be minimal in many cases and, even when significant, will be far outweighed by nationwide benefits,” the commission said.  

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that key players in the aviation and wireless industries have laid out a plan that will protect commercial air travel from disruption by 5G C-band interference while also enabling Verizon and AT&T to enhance service around certain airports.

“We believe we have identified a path that will continue to enable aviation and 5G C-band wireless to safely co-exist,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen. “We appreciate the willingness of Verizon and AT&T to continue this important and productive collaboration with the aviation industry.”

The phased approach requires operators of regional aircraft with radio altimeters most susceptible to interference to retrofit them with radio frequency filters by the end of 2022. This work has already begun and will continue on an expedited basis.

At the same time, the FAA said it has been working with the wireless companies to identify airports around which their service can be enhanced with the least risk of disrupting flight schedules.

During initial negotiations in January, the wireless companies offered to keep mitigations in place until July 5, 2022, while they worked with the FAA to better understand the effects of 5G C-band signals on sensitive aviation instruments.

Based on progress achieved during a series of meetings, the wireless companies have offered to continue with some level of voluntary mitigations for another year, the FAA said. 

“We all agreed when we began these meetings that our goal was to make July 5, 2022, just another date on the calendar, and this plan makes that possible,” Nolen said.

Airlines and other operators of aircraft equipped with the affected radio altimeters must install filters or other enhancements as soon as possible, the FAA said. 

Filters and replacement units for the mainline commercial fleet should be available on a schedule that would permit the work to be largely completed by July 2023. After that time, the wireless companies expect to operate their networks in urban areas with minimal restrictions.

The FAA noted that radio-altimeter manufacturers are working with Embraer, Boeing, Airbus and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop and test filters and installation kits for these aircraft. Customers are receiving the first kits now. In most cases, the kits can be installed in a few hours at airline maintenance facilities.

Throughout this process, the FAA said it will work with both industries to track the pace of the radio altimeter retrofits while also working with the wireless companies to relax mitigations around key airports in carefully considered phases.

IRVINE, Calif.—With the 2022 wildfire season getting an early and devastating start with record breaking fires in the American Southwest, Verizon has laid out some of its plans to be able to continue to provide crucial communications to communities and first responders during wildfire, extreme weather and other natural disasters

With the hottest and driest months of the 2022 wildfire season still ahead and experts predicting another active fire season, teams of Verizon engineers have been preparing by running emergency drills, testing fiber and cell site readiness, and ensuring recovery equipment is in place, the telco said.

Verizon Frontline and the Verizon Frontline Response Team also have been working to ensure that they can provide first responders on the front lines of potential disaster response efforts with portable gear that will allow them to maintain mission-critical communications.

Verizon said that it maintains a fleet of over 500 portable assets, including fully functional, generator-powered cells sites that can replace or enhance network coverage and capacity in a given area as well as drones and a fixed wing aircraft that can provide service from the sky above. 

Verizon also has 150 satellite-based portable network assets that can be used in case fiber connection is lost due to loss of commercial power or physical damage. Those assets include mid-Earth orbit and geosynchronous assets. All of those mobile assets are complemented by nearly a thousand portable generators and a comprehensive refueling program.

The use of battery and generator backup systems in critical locations such as macro cell sites, switch locations and network operations centers also serve to minimize the risk of disruption if commercial power is lost, the company said. All of Verizon macro cell sites have backup battery power and 78% have backup generators. 

Verizon engineers have also been preparing for the coming season by ensuring fuel levels are high on all generators at cell sites, testing battery back-ups at network facilities, positioning extra equipment in case additional capacity is needed, and prepping emergency crews to respond quickly to any network issue.

Verizon noted that in 2021, Verizon teams responded to 128 named wildfires, delivering more than 2,000 Verizon Frontline solutions to first responders in nearly 200 communities across 16 states.

Composed of many former first responders and military veterans, the Verizon Frontline Response Team is available 24/7 to deliver Verizon Frontline technologies including portable cell sites, drones, charging stations, WiFi hotspots, and other Verizon Frontline devices and solutions that enable communications and/or boost network performance, the company said. 

The telco also stressed that Verizon’s retail team stands ready to assist customers and ensure they have the right devices, accessories and connectivity they’ll need to prepare for extended power outages, mandatory evacuation orders, and other extreme circumstances. 

When wildfire risk is high, Verizon also issued these recommendations:

• Keep devices protected: While many phones today are some degree of water resistant, you still want to take some extra care to ensure phones, tablets, batteries, chargers and other equipment remain dry and accessible. Plastic zipper storage bags help shield devices, and there are weatherproof phones, phone cases and other protective accessories available.
• Keep devices fully charged: Make sure your device is ready when you need it by keeping phone and tablet batteries fully charged in case commercial power goes out.
• Get some backup: When power is out for an extended period of time, portable battery packs can be a game-changer to ensure you remain connected. Don’t forget your car chargers as well in case you need to evacuate.
• Create a list: Keep a list of emergency numbers in your phone so that you have them if needed.
• Be prepared for loss: Take pictures of valuables and other important belongings for possible insurance claims. And make sure they’re uploaded to the cloud so you have a backup.
• Review checklists: Review the wildfire safety recommendations and other resources from the American Red Cross.
• Download useful apps: There are plenty of free wildfire notification, weather, news, and safety-related apps available for download to your smartphone.

For businesses and government agencies, Verizon recommended:  

• Make sure you have contact information updated and readily available for all employees, including at-home information for remote workers and branch information for satellite offices.
• Stress-test primary and backup networks and shore up any weak areas
• Make copies of insurance documents, review insurance coverages and update as appropriate.
• Ensure employees working from home have documented all corporate equipment being used to work from home in case of damage or loss.
• Ensure backup plans are in place to shift work in case work-from-home employees in a fire-impacted area have to evacuate their home or their home loses commercial power for an extended period.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.— Verizon and AWS have expanded their 5G mobile edge computing offering to more U.S. metro areas with the addition of Nashville, Tenn. and Tampa, Fla.

Launched in August 2020, the expansion means that companies now provide mobile edge computing via AWS Wavelength Zones in 19 locations in the U.S. and that 75% of the U.S. population is now within 150 miles of a Wavelength Zone. 

For consumers, being in closer proximity to the applications they use, shortens the roundtrip that data needs to travel, which in turn significantly reducing lag time, or latency, for getting data to your device from the cloud, the companies explained. 

For developers and businesses, Verizon 5G Edge and AWS Wavelength allows them to build and deploy a variety of latency-sensitive applications for such applications as immersive VR gaming, video distribution, and connected and autonomous vehicles.

“With the ongoing expansion of our mobile edge compute infrastructure, we’re enabling developers to build transformational applications that enhance consumers’ experiences by moving the data and processing done by applications and services to the edge of Verizon’s wireless network and closer to the end-user’s device,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “By offering both public and private mobile edge compute, we’re giving businesses ultimate optionality. This can transform the way companies can leverage predictive analytics, allowing them to improve operational efficiency, mitigate risk and increase revenue.”

“With the rapid expansion of AWS Wavelength Zones across the US, even more developers can innovate faster and deploy powerful cloud-based applications to the edge – offering ultra low latency, high bandwidth, and high performance for these applications,” said George Elissaios, director and general manager of AWS EC2 core product management at AWS. “We’re excited to collaborate with Verizon to bring AWS services to the edge of the Verizon 5G network across the US to help our customers transform consumer experiences.”

Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength is currently available in 19 locations including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington DC. 

Verizon and AWS also offer private mobile edge computing for enterprises called Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Outposts.

DURHAM, NH—Consumers who want to literally cut the final cord from their cable providers are accelerating their adoption of fixed wireless home internet services from telco competitors like T-Mobile and Verizon, according to a new report from Leichtman Research Group.

Although the latest report shows that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the U.S.—representing about 96% of the market—logged a healthy gain of 1,065,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in 1Q 2022—a pro forma gain of about 1,120,000 subscribers in 1Q 2021—that number included an increase of 530,000 subscribers of fixed wireless/5G home Internet services from T-Mobile and Verizon, a nearly five-fold increase compared to 110,000 net adds in 1Q 2021.  

The top broadband providers account for about 109.3 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 75.6 million broadband subscribers, top wireline phone companies having about 32.3 million subscribers, and top fixed wireless services having about 1.4 million subscribers.

Findings for the quarter include:

• Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2022 were 95% of those in 1Q 2021
• The top cable companies added about 480,000 subscribers in 1Q 2022, 52% of the net additions for the top cable companies in 1Q 2021
• The top wireline phone companies added about 50,000 total broadband subscribers in 1Q 2022, compared to about 80,000 net adds in 1Q 2021—Wireline Telcos had about 480,000 net adds via fiber in 1Q 2022, and about 430,000 non-fiber net losses

Despite the increase in "cord-cutting," the very definition of the term is relative since most consumers are just dropping their TV subscriptions, but keeping their broadband services with the same pay-TV provider. The increasing adoption of using wireless 5G services to replace traditional wired broadband internet, however, is rapidly changing the face of how consumers access the internet, according to the research firm. 

“Top broadband providers added over one million subscribers in 1Q 2022, similar to last year’s first quarter, but the distribution of net broadband additions differed from a year ago,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc.  “Fixed wireless services accounted for half of the net broadband adds in 1Q 2022, compared to about 10% of the net adds in 1Q 2021.”

Verizon, Bloomberg Media, Zixi and AWS have launched a 5G test project, designed to explore how edge computing can enable networks to stream live 4K UHD content without the need for satellites.

In the proof of concept trial, Bloomberg is using Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength and Zixi’s Software Defined Video Platform (SDVP) to package and deliver live feeds of Bloomberg TV+ in 4K UHD. The companies will also test streaming Bloomberg TV+ 4K UHD content via 5G and edge compute, powered by AWS, directly to consumers’ 5G-connected devices.

The trial is the latest in a string of consortia set up to test 5G in broadcast and journalism use cases, following this week's announcement by Deutsche Telekom and RTL Deutschland.

The test sees Bloomberg Media sending UHD video using Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength coupled with Zixi’s software to quickly process the video into multiple streams for broadcast across various platforms. This will be followed by another trial that will involve near real-time native translation of Bloomberg TV+ content for transcripts, captioning and subtitles distributed globally.

“Bloomberg Media is committed to continuous innovation and experimentation of technologies to better reach our global audience of business leaders with the insights, information and solutions they need,” said Roman Mackiewicz, chief information officer, Bloomberg Media. “This proof of concept trial combines Verizon’s 5G and mobile edge computing capabilities with Bloomberg TV+ premium 4K UHD content to create a modern streaming news experience with the potential for true industry disruption.”

“It has been fantastic working with Verizon, Bloomberg Media and AWS to deliver pristine 4K UHD quality content over 5G while leveraging edge compute,” added Gordon Brooks, executive chairman and CEO, Zixi. “Verizon 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength and Zixi can potentially transform the M&E industry.”

LOS ANGELES—In an interesting example of how news organizations are trying to use 5G, drones, data, advanced networking and even robotics to improve the way they operate, Verizon and the Los Angeles Times have announced plans to deploy advanced robotics, drones and other technology from Verizon to expand on the way news is gathered, shared and consumed.

As part of the deal, the companies will use 4G-connected drones, 5G-connected ground robots, 3D modeled data and other technologies to help redefine digital media and add dimensions to news reporting and storytelling. 

Such efforts would allow the L.A. Times to offer more video, which can produce higher ad revenues, but they could also provide a model for local TV stations seeking to improve their news coverage. 

“By combining Verizon’s network, edge computing and intelligent software technologies, with the innovative thinkers at the L.A. Times, we have the potential to transform the future of storytelling,” said Elise Neel, senior vice president of new business incubation at Verizon.

“Verizon is working with partners to innovate in their respective industries and this collaboration is an example of how we are using technology to drive innovation in the industry,” Neel continued. “Through the work we are doing with the L.A. Times, people from all over the world could have an opportunity to feel like they are immersed in the stories of Southern California.”

“At the Los Angeles Times, we’re always looking for ways to get closer to the news, explain what it means and illustrate the vital stories of California,” said Chris Argentieri, president and COO of the L.A. Times. “This collaboration with Verizon will allow us to build on our expertise in video journalism, data visualization and product design to create deeply immersive and immediate extensions of our reporting with their best-in-class technologies.”  

The companies said that the initial focus will be on:

• Providing a “see what the robot sees” experience through high-definition, near real-time video feeds from the robots both in the air and on the ground.
• Getting visuals from miles away through the use of drones to capture digital stills from onboard cameras in difficult-to-access areas.
• Giving context from multiple perspectives through the creation of digital twin models to add visual and location context in near real-time or for after-the-fact recreations.
• Robotics, in the air and on the ground, paired with data-driven technology running on Verizon’s wireless networks, including 4G LTE and 5G Ultra Wideband, will enable news gathering in hard to reach areas. This near real-time data will help the L.A. Times set new benchmarks in how breaking stories are captured and delivered.

NEW YORK—Tegna local stations were dropped from Verizon Fios TV on Tuesday January 5, after the two companies were unable to reach a new retransmission consent agreement. 

The two companies extended the deadline to January 5 after the old agreement expired last week but were unable to reach a new deal. 

In a statement, Tegna said: 

“We have been working for months to reach a fair, market-based agreement with Verizon based on the competitive terms we’ve used to reach deals with other major providers. We even offered Verizon an extension that kept our stations available to viewers through the holiday weekend. We are especially disappointed that Verizon has pulled access at a time when local broadcast stations are a lifeline, connecting people to the news, information, and entertainment they need and want most. We hope that Verizon realizes how important our stations are to their subscribers and works with us to reach a fair agreement.” 

The majority of the subs impacted are in the D.C. market, with Buffalo, Norfolk, Harrisburg and Hartford also affected. 

Verizon said the following channels were impacted: 

• WUSA CBS (509 HD / 9 SD) in Washington D.C.
• WPMT FOX (504 HD / 4 SD) in York/Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon, Pennsylvania. 
• WVEC ABC (513 HD / 13 SD) in Hampton/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• WGRZ NBC (502 HD / 2 SD) in Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York and Toronto/Niagara Falls, Ontario. 
• WCCT CW (491, 516 HD / 16 SD) in Waterbury/Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut.

In a statement, Verizon apologized for the disruption and said “We are trying our best to reach a reasonable deal with Tegna and hope Tegna will restore its channels to our lineup soon.” 

Verizon also noted that “This is not the first time that Tegna has removed their content from a TV provider. Tegna has a track record of removing their content when a TV provider refuses to accept their demands for unreasonable rate increases.”

Tegna stations have still not been restored to Dish subscribers after a carriage dispute that began in the fall. 

There has also been a blackout of Tegna stations impacting Mediacom customers since December 31, 2020.  

NEW YORK—Verizon has announced that more than 100 million people in 1,700-plus cities around the U.S. will have access in January 2022 to its 5G UItra Wideband service, which is up to 10 times faster than 4G LTE. 

“This massive launch will put incredible speeds, reliability and security in the hands of our customers and amplifies our offering of reliable home and business broadband options to more places around the country, well ahead of the commitment we made last year,” said Hans Vestberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon. “As 5G Ultra Wideband becomes available to more and more people and businesses, it will allow our customers to do more amazing things.”

The move is important both for consumers and for news organizations using cellular systems in their news operations to send video as Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband offers download speeds up to one gigabit per second and the capacity to support data-heavy actions from multiple devices at one time.

The launches come in the wake of a dispute over the possible impact of 5G on aviation. This week Verizon and AT&T agreed to a two week delay in the rollout of 5G services to clear up any possible interference with aviation signals. 

Verizon said a map of mobility coverage will be available at launch and more information about business services and coverage can be found at verizon.com/business/why-verizon while customers interested in 5G Home service can visit https://www.verizon.com/5g/home/.

IRVINE, Calif.—Thanks to a recent collaboration with Verizon and Amazon Web Services Teradek has announced a new ultra-low latency monitoring server for their Core cloud service: Wavelength Sputnik. Teradek is a member of the Vitec Group’s Creative Solutions division.

Wavelength Sputnik is a new integration that puts Teradek’s streaming video server (Sputnik) on the Verizon 5G network, dramatically reducing streaming video latency when paired with Teradek hardware, software, and Core Cloud platform. The integration provides a 50% performance improvement over Teradek’s existing low latency options, coming in at a lightning fast 160ms glass to glass.

“This improved monitoring solution works anywhere Verizon 5G service is offered, via AWS Wavelength Zones, which covers the entire United States,” says Tyler Riddle, live streaming product manager for Teradek. “It is the ideal solution for applications in production monitoring, law enforcement situational awareness, drone to cellular monitoring where local monitoring solutions can’t reach, and remote industrial oversight that lack a direct line-of-sight, such as remote monitoring of cranes, businesses, construction sites, or other applications where high quality, low delay video is required.”

For more information visit www.teradek.com

NEW YORK—Verizon has announced that it’s Fios TV app is now available on Apple TV and Fire TV. 

That will allow customers to access Fios TV content on multiple TVs in the home without having to pay for additional boxes. Users will still, however, need one Fios TV box. 

The move was part of the July 22 launch of new Mix & Match on Fios plans that Verizon said would give customers more value and stronger connections with Whole-Home Wi-Fi.. 

The Mix & Match plans include:

· Whole-Home Wi-Fi to boost signals to improve in-home Wi-Fi coverage.

· Upload speeds up to 25x faster than cable.

· Fios TV app available on Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD or Amazon Fire TV, which allows users to watch TV on your favorite devices with only one Fios TV box necessary

· New Fios TV plans come with the Fios TV One box and voice remote included at no additional charge

LOS ANGELES—Seven companies have come together to form the Volumetric Format Association, dedicated to ensuring interoperability across the volumetric video ecosystem. The founding companies are Verizon, Zeiss, RED Digital Cinema, Unity, Intel, Nvidia and Canon.

Volumetric video is a new way to experience content in holographic 3D, giving the viewer a more immersive and interactive experience, VFA says. It is characterized by the process of simultaneously capturing content from multiple cameras, which can then be viewed from any angle at any point in time.

The goal of the VFA will be to facilitate collaboration, innovation and technology sharing to establish a collection of specifications that will help drive faster development, adoption and ecosystem growth.

As VFA members, the companies will be able to share intellectual property within the confines of the organization while protecting the value of that IP. The VFA Technical Steering Committee has defined four initial working groups to create the specifications, including Capture Acquisition, Interchange of Data, Decode & Render and Persistent Metadata.

"The Volumetric Format Association is leading the way in how content, especially in sports and M&E, is being presented, and we are seeing the biggest shift since B+W went to color" said Tian Pei, head of business affairs for sports at Unity. "Volumetric technologies encompass the process of capturing, viewing, and interacting with the real world and here at Unity we are pushing the limits of what's possible and transforming the interactive experience forever."

VFA is opening membership to other companies. For more information, visit www.volumetricformat.org.  

NEW YORK—Verizon has agreed to terms with Apollo Global Management that will see Apollo acquire Verizon Media for $5 billion. Verizon Media consists of Yahoo, AOL and other ad tech and media platform businesses.

Per the deal, Verizon will retain 10% of the spun off company, which will be known as Yahoo. Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan will remain in his position.

“We are excited to be joining forces with Apollo,” said Gowrappan. “The past two quarters of double-digit growth have demonstrated our ability to transform our media ecosystem. With Apollo’s sector expertise and strategic insight, Yahoo will be well positioned to capitalize on market opportunities, media and transaction experience and continue to grow our full stack digital advertising platform. This transition will help to accelerate our growth for the long- term success of the company.”

Verizon Media has grown over the last two quarters by pushing new ad offerings, consumer ecommerce, subscriptions, betting and strategic partnerships. Yahoo is also popular among Gen Z, as Yahoo News was labeled as the fastest growing news organization on TikTok.

Under the agreement, Verizon will receive $4.25 billion in cash, preferred interests of $750 million and 10% stock in Verizon Media. The transaction includes all of Verizon Media’s brands and businesses.

Verizon estimates that the deal will close in the second half of 2021.

Despite a recent projection that cord cutting will accelerate significantly over the next 24 months, the top five publicly traded pay-TV companies lost 22.3% fewer video customers in Q1 than they did in the first three months of 2020. 

Comcast, Charter Communications, AT&T, Dish Network and Verizon combined to lose 1,561,000 video customers in Q1 vs. 2,011,000 in the same period of 2020. 

For the most part, video losses for each of these companies were worse, or largely the same, save for one operator, AT&T. That telecom lost 897,000 customers across its DirecTV satellite and U-verse “premium” platforms in the first quarter of last year, and another 138,000 from virtual MVPD AT&T TV Now. Most of the losses came in satellite TV.

In January, February and March of 2021, AT&T lost a combined 620,000 across DirecTV, U-verse and AT&T TV—the latter service, launched in April of last year, having subsumed AT&T TV Now. AT&T is in the process of spinning off a portion of its pay-TV assets to private equity firm TPG. 

Among cable operators, Comcast saw its Xfinity TV losses accelerate to 491,000 vs. 409,000 in the first quarter of 2020, while Charter Communications saw losses expand from 70,000 to 138,000, first quarter vs. first quarter. 

In satellite, Dish Network saw flat linear customer recession of 132,000 users, but experienced improved subscriber losses for its Sling TV vMVPD, which lost only 100,000 customers vs. 280,000 in Q1 2021. 

Among telcos, Verizon’s 82,000 lost Fios TV souls were largely flat with the 84,000 shed in Q1 2020, but the company retracted to overall customer levels (3.7 million) not seen in 10 years.

This analysis leaves out a range of smaller cable companies, Altice USA, Mediacom and Cable One.  Also not included are major virtual MVPD operators Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. 

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Verizon is hosting its own special Super Bowl LV offering, announcing that with its 5G technology it will deliver immersive, interactive viewing experiences for fans both at home and in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

This will be done through the Verizon 5G SuperStadium in the NFL mobile app. Available exclusively to fans with an iPhone 12 (though you do not need Verizon to access the feeds), the feature provides seven different camera angles for fans in the stadium and five for those at home. According to CNET, the new camera feeds will be at the 25-yard line, the 50-yard line, a skycam view and CBS’ regular feed. Fans in the stadium will have access to feeds from the NFL Ticket Holder app.

Verizon has also announced a “Watch Together” co-viewing experience that is available in the Yahoo Sports mobile app. This lets friends and family watch the Super Bowl together over their phones. Both SuperStadium and Watch Together will be available when the game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 7.

In addition, Verizon has created a fan-first experience with Verizon 5G Stadium in the popular Fortnite game. This will give gamers the opportunity to interact with NFL players and pro gamers during the Super Bowl.

Verizon invested $80 million to boost its 5G network for the Super Bowl, including 5G enhancement to Raymond James Stadium and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit Verizon’s website.

BURLINGTON, Ontario—Evertz Technologies Limited and Verizon Ventures led an $11 million funding round for ShotTracker (DDSports Inc.) that will be used to accelerate ShotTracker’s deployment across NCAA Division I Power 6 basketball conferences to bring enhance sensor capabilities and data capture to broadcasters and others.

ShotTracker is a sports technology that captures rich performance data via sensors and provides statistics and analytics to players, coaches and fans, and can be incorporated into game broadcasts.

Tracking data in three parts—a ShotTracker-enabled ball, sensors on players’ jerseys and court sensors that map the court in 3D—the processed data is displayed on the ShotTracker app and dashboard that will be integrated with Evertz cloud-based live production systems. 

The real-time data can be used to automate camera productions from remote locations, Evertz says in the official press release. It also delivers experiential activations and crossover content opportunities via digital and social platforms, enabling content owners to create tailored content across multiple platforms.

Evertz is expected to integrate ShotTracker sensor data with its DreamCatcher suite of products, which Vince Silvestri, Evertz vice president of Software Systems, says will boost both on-premise and cloud-based live productions.

In addition to expanding to NCAA basketball conferences, ShotTracker is expected to use the new funds for new hires, to further partnerships and enhance sensor capabilities.

Over the years, sci-fi films and TV have offered glimpses of a future fuelled by innovation. While much of it remains fiction, next-gen 5G technology is very real, creating opportunities for Hollywood to deliver cutting-edge content and experiences while driving operational efficiencies and cost-savings. 

Entertainment and broadcast leaders are only now beginning to understand how much of a disruptive force 5G will be to the industry. Exploring its potential to reduce costs of expensive productions and create more engaging content and experiences for audiences, the industry is utilizing technology to create solutions like fully virtual production studios and 360-degree streaming. And at Verizon, we’re experiencing this transformation first-hand with our partners.

Moreover, today’s COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge the industry to lean into emerging tech to achieve their goals and still produce the level of quality content audiences expect. We all know that the 5G network has come to the devices in our pockets, but what can the entertainment industry expect from 5G?

FASTER, NIMBLER OPERATIONS

5G is the promise of a tetherless world. The miles of cable, expensive satellite trucks and even the satellites themselves can be simplified in the content delivery process because a 5G wireless network has the capacity and processing power to manage live video feeds; for instance, using 5G and mobile edge computing, 

Zixi, a company providing live broadcast-quality video over IP networks, is testing how a 4K live broadcast news feed can be delivered over 5G to affiliate broadcasters. The endgame is to simulate how content providers can distribute feeds in local markets without the need for satellites, creating a truly wireless broadcast operation that is both flexible and cost-effective. 

Even in a post-pandemic world, producers will be asking for these nimbler solutions powered by terrestrial wireless technology such as 5G.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL, IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES

Amid the pandemic, gathering in large venues like stadiums, theaters or concert halls is no longer an option. With the processing power of 5G, fans can still be front row, or they can put themselves right in the middle of the show through shared real-time experiences live and on-demand.

Companies like YBVR are using 5G and mobile edge computing to stream live 8K video to sports fans and concert-goers, allowing simultaneous users to choose various camera views with super-low latency. They are also working with events and entertainment platforms to use 5G to create 360-degree streaming of spectator-less virtual events, an application that could gain increasing use until the pandemic has subsided. 

REMOTE, GLOBAL COLLABORATION

Approximately 92% of broadcasters are planning to adopt 5G in the next two years, as they seek to increase coverage capabilities through better remote management of multiple events from a central facility. 

An example of this is when Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Josh Haner attended the 2019 Oscars in Los Angeles and used a 5G connection with his camera to send his massive photo files to his editors in New York City, enabling almost instant publishing. Traditionally, photographers are either stationary and connected to a wire to enable fast photo uploads or they swap out memory cards to a colleague for upload. 

With the 5G network and software developed by The New York Times’ R&D team, Haner was able to roam the red carpet, and he sent eight times more photos than the photographer from the previous year, with an average upload time of 2.1 seconds. 

AI-POWERED DIGITAL ACTORS

Together, AI and 5G are helping to create realistic human representations that can interact with audiences in real-time. One day soon, virtual actors—which are gaining traction—will be able to read and respond to viewers’ reactions. 5G is critical to provide the high speed and low latency required to process data so that the AI actors of the future can interpret emotions, respond with little delay and repeat lines in a natural fashion. 

5G can bring fundamental change to the entertainment broadcasting industry—from watching live immersive video streaming from the comforts of home in various screen formats such as high resolution screens or VR glasses, to production teams managing live, high-def and near real-time content streams across multiple territories. And as a catalyst for collaboration, 5G powered technology will create a more efficient production process with the added benefit of reaching teammates in remote locations. 

With some television and movie productions paused—or even halted due to COVID-19—the entertainment broadcasting industry has had to make quick pivots, embracing what technology has to offer to overcome new challenges. The broadcasting tech revolution, while out of necessity today, will serve to accelerate the early examples of how 5G can transform the business of broadcasting and new audience experiences in the post-pandemic world of tomorrow. 

Sanyogita Shamsunder is the vice president of 5G Labs and Innovation at Verizon. 

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—A new iteration of Verizon’s Stream TV Android TV-powered streaming device has been launched, adding something that the original Stream TV model did not have—Netflix.

Stream TV features a Verizon user interface that surfaces content from streaming apps like Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max and more for viewers to find their favorite shows and easily watch them from the main menu. Stream TV also features support for 4K UHD, HDR10 and HDR10+ display formats.

The new Stream TV has a number of new remote features. One such ability is one-touch access to Google Assistant voice search and controls, allowing users to give voice commands to find content or perform actions. Also, in the event of a lost remote, by pressing the Stream TV power button twice, the remote will beep until one of its buttons is pressed.

Additional features include support for Wi-Fi 6 dual-band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz connectivity and the Stream TV mobile app.

The new Stream TV is now available for $69.99. Original Stream TV devices will be updated with the new interface in the near future.

For more information, visit www.verizon.com/streamtv.  

NEW YORK—Building off its previous agreement to offer a free year-long Disney+ subscription to new subscribers, Verizon has announced that it is expanding its deal with Disney and offering additional bundles into multiple plans.

Starting Aug. 20, as part of Verizon’s Mix & Match wireless plans, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will be included in certain plans. Verizon is also including trial or full services from Apple Music and 5G Ultra Wideband in some plans.

There are five new plans from Verizon. The Start Unlimited plan offers 4G LTE data and six-month subscriptions for Disney+ and Apple Music. The Play More Unlimited plan adds 5G Ultra Wideband and permanent subscriptions for Dinsey+, Hulu and ESPN+. Additional plans feature some combination of these offerings, plus additional components like 50% off unlimited connected devices plans and 600GB of Verizon cloud storage.

“We led the industry by giving customers Disney+ on us,” said Frank Boulben, senior vice president, Marketing and Products, of Verizon Consumer Group. “Now we’re adding The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, for more entertainment choices that appeal to a variety of interests. We can’t wait to see what customers choose to suit their needs.”

For more information, visit verizon.com/plans beginning on Aug. 20.

NEW YORK—Verizon has shared its second quarter 2020 financial report, which shows that it loss 81,000 Verizon Fios TV subscribers, in large part due to the shift from traditional linear video to OTT offerings, the company says.

According to TVT’s sister publication Next|TV, Verizon Fios TV at one point had more than 5 million subscribers. As of this most recent financial report, the service’s number of subscribers has now fallen below 4 million.

It is an industry wide trend as more and more consumers cut the cord to traditional services. AT&T reported earlier this week that it had lost 886,000 traditional pay-TV subscribers, while its new HBO Max streaming service was growing. Also, a new study from Roku reported that 32% of U.S. TV homes no longer have a traditional pay-TV service.

Despite this, Verizon overall actually beat consensus revenue forecasts, totaling $30.45 billion in sales. This was helped by increases in postpaid wireless customers and those using Verizon’s 5G wireless service. In addition, Fios high-speed internet continues to grow.

Verizon has been attempting to draw customers in recent months by offering free, year-long subscriptions to new streaming services like Disney+ and the vMVPD YouTube TV.

For more information, visit Verizon’s website. 

NEW YORK—Verizon is changing how it provides cable and internet to its customers, announcing its new Mix & Match on Fios program.

What Verizon describes as a “goodbye to traditional cable bundles,” Mix & Match lets customers select the best internet and cable options for them, starting at $39.99, while also eliminating past cable policies like bundling, hidden extra fees and annual contracts.

Verizon customers can now choose from three basic internet options—100 Mbps ($39.99/month), 300 Mbps ($59.99/month) and Gigabit connection ($79.99/month).

They will then have the option to pick a TV package between Your Fios TV, offering more than 125 channels for $50/month; More Fios TV with more than 300 channels for $70/month; The Most Fios TV with more than 425 channels for $90/month; or YouTubeTV’s 70-plus channels at $49.99/month. Verizon is also offering customers a two-month trial period with its more than 425 channels, at the end of which Verizon will recommend packages based on viewership data. All TV packages feature major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Telemundo and Univision.

Verizon says it has also simplified its bill process, with no added surcharges, no broadcast or regional sports network fees and “no surprises.”

“Customers have been loud and clear about their frustrations with cable, and we’ve listened,” said Frank Boulben, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing and Products at Verizon. “As a result, we’re transforming our approach to internet and TV offers by giving customers more choices and more transparency. Customers are tired of having to buy a bundle with services they don’t want to get the best rates, and then discover that those rates didn’t include extra fees and surcharges. We’re putting an end to the traditional bundle contract and putting customers in control.”

For more information, visit verizon.com/mixandmatch.

WASHINGTON—Any fears that C-band spectrum might not be able to accommodate future satellite delivery of 4K programming are “misplaced” according to Verizon, with new technology updates and an overall decline in the demand of C-band traffic helping to absorb such hi-res programming.

This was one of the key takeaways of an ex parte letter from Verizon to the FCC in regards to making the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz spectrum band typically used for C-band available for 5G. Verizon joins other companies and organizations this week that have made their opinions known with such filings, like Eutelsat.

Verizon argues that while the market uptake of 4K and UHD TV sets is significant, programming for this higher resolution still lags behind, causing no immediate need for dramatic change. As of last year, reports showed there were only 51 active UHD services available to customers, with most 4K/UHD content delivered by online streaming. “The evidence to date does not suggest this is likely to change dramatically any time soon,” Verizon said.

Rather, Verizon suggests that the FCC look toward investing in up-to-date compression technology or help delivering hi-re content, like the HEVC format. It also says the deployment of fiber will help as it is better suited for the delivery of 4K programming than C-band satellites. Verizon also pointed to the declining demand for C-band content distribution, which is opening up space for growth in satellite-delivered 4K programming.

Also in its ex parte letter, Verizon said that the transition proposal from the C-Band Alliance is the preferable option over the one from ACA.

The full ex parte letter is available to read here.

NEW YORK & BURBANK, Calif.—Certain Verizon customers will get to enjoy some of the magic of Disney for free after the company announced a partnership with the Mouse House that will provide its new Disney+ streaming service for free for a year.

All Verizon wireless unlimited customers, new Fios Home Internet and 5G Home Internet customers will get 12 months of Disney+, which is set to launch on Nov. 12.

“The launch of Disney+ kicks off a new era of streaming for The Walt Disney Company, bringing nearly a century’s worth of content from our iconic studios to consumers directly,” said Kevin Mayer, chairman, direct-to-consumer & international, at Disney. “We’re excited to share this moment with Verizon and bring Disney+ to the millions of customers across its award-winning wireless network.”

When the Disney+ platform launches, the eligible Verizon customers can activate their subscriptions and stream from mobile and connected TV devices, including gaming consoles, streaming media players and smart TVs. More information is available at verizon.com/disneyplus.

The Disney+ service will feature movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, “Star Wars” and National Geographic, including classics and original programming like “The Mandalorian” and “Lady and the Tramp.”

NEW YORK—Verizon and Google said they struck an agreement that will make YouTube TV available to Verizon customers over Fios broadband, wireless and its expanding 5G service.

Verizon said the move gives its customers more programming to choose from on which ever platform they’re using.

“Our network and technology leadership uniquely positions us to lead the content revolution, which centers around choice for our customers,” said Erin McPherson, head of content strategy and acquisition, Verizon. “As we pave the path forward on 5G, we’ll continue to bring our customers options and access to premium content by teaming up with the best providers in the industry and leveraging our network-as-a-service strategy. We were first in the world to bring commercial 5G to our customers and now another first on the content front as we offer our customers access to YouTube TV on whatever platform they choose.”

YouTube TV, a virtual MVPD, livestreams more than 70 broadcast and cable networks. Subscribers get six accounts, each with unlimited personal DVR storage.

"YouTube TV has become known for its best-in-class user experience that enhances the way users watch live TV today," said Heather Rivera, global head of product partnerships at YouTube. "With this partnership, we're making it simple and seamless for Verizon's customers to sign up to enjoy YouTube TV on-the-go on their mobile phones or tablets or at home on their big screen devices."

The deal marks a change in strategy for Verizon.

"Verizon shifting from marketing pay TV in its limited FiOS footprint to a national bundle with wireless increases competition, a minor negative for DBS/cable," said analyst Doug Mitchelson of Credit Suisse in a reserach note Tuesday. He added that the news was a minor positive for media in YouTube TV.