Benzinga | Apr 12, 2021 12:40PM EDT

Verizon Forged Deals With Crown Castle, SBA Communications To Fast-Track C-Band Equipment Deployment

* Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) has inked deals with Crown Castle International Corp (NYSE: CCI) and SBA Communications Corp (NASDAQ: SBAC) to accelerate the deployment of C-band equipment for the launch of 5G Ultra-Wideband and fixed wireless broadband service on the newly acquired spectrum.

* Castle and SBA already hosted Verizon infrastructure equipment.

* Verizon won an average of 161 MHz of C-band nationwide spectrum in the recent FCC auction. The C-band offered greater speeds and coverage for both mobility, home broadband, and business internet solutions.

* The 5G Ultra-Wideband deployment on the spectrum required new network equipment, including basebands and antennas on existing towers.

* The deals with both Crown Castle and SBA Communications offered process improvements leading to Verizon's faster deployment of C-band equipment.

* Both the agreements established terms for leasing space on existing towers for C-band equipment.

* The addition of the C-band spectrum will enable Verizon to offer the differentiated 5G Ultra-Wideband mobility service to an additional 250 million customers offering the internet provider choice to 50 million additional customers, stated Verizon SVP Heidi Hemmer.

* Price action: VZ shares traded higher by 0.10% at $57.55 on the last check Monday.