(Bloomberg) — Verizon Communications Inc. has spent three years developing wireless technology to beam high-speed internet connections into homes and now it’s finally ready to talk about the new growth area.
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Verizon reported 55,000 new wireless broadband subscribers for the third quarter, bringing its total to 150,000 — the first time the company has disclosed details of the business.
The service, unlike mobile, is a fixed point-to-point connection using a mix of 4G and 5G signals. Verizon has expanded the network to parts of 80 cities and is aiming the fast, landline-type speeds to compete with rivals like T-Mobile US Inc. and cable companies including Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc.
“We’re very excited about the growth opportunity,” Verizon Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis said in an interview Wednesday. “We’re going to take broadband competition on a more nationwide scale as we bring fixed-wireless broadband to consumers and businesses.”
Verizon rose 2.5% to $53.66 at 12:02 p.m. in New York after surging as much as 2.7%, the most intraday surge since Feb. 17. The company boosted its profit outlook after reporting overall subscriber growth that topped estimates.
The company charges $70 a month for the service, or $50 for Verizon mobile customers. T-Mobile launched its wireless home internet service earlier this year and recently cut its price to $50. T-Mobile said last month that it was on pace to reach its target of 500,000 subscribers by year-end.
“We have not set a target for the number of subscribers we’ll have by the end of the year but we are certainly scaling the business well,” Ellis said.
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