Verizon touted significant 5G milestones related to its virtualized radio access network (vRAN) deployment and the use of its deep C-band spectrum portfolio that the carrier is heavily relying on to power its next-generation wireless aspirations.

Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology and planning at Verizon, explained in an interview that the carrier has now deployed more than 8,000 vRAN sites, which includes a mix of new equipment installed at existing locations and new sites. He explained updates to legacy sites are typically based on what services and spectrum Verizon wants to eventually deploy at those sites.

“We're going out to a lot of existing locations, adding the new spectrum, so that's a high-touch environment, if you will, that allows us to then look ahead and say, well, what's the end state architecture I want? What are all the assets I want to deploy? So when I go to this site, I'm making a very efficient visit from a cost standpoint, from a hands-on network standpoint. Go to the site, do all the work,” Koeppe said.

Verizon plans to have more than 20,000 vRAN sites running by the end of 2025, though many of its existing sites will not receive updates.

“Some portion of the network will likely remain on a physical architecture for some time, but the vast majority of our sites going forward will be in the vRAN architecture,” Koeppe said. “We know that there's inherent benefits to that architecture. We see it already deployed and we're reaping the benefits already. So from an architecture standpoint, and a growth standpoint, that's how the network's going to be built.”

Koeppe said “a bulk” of that vRAN deployment has been with Samsung, dating back to its blockbuster deal with Verizon in mid-2020. That agreement saw the carrier boot long-time vendor Nokia from that prime agreement.

The carrier is also working to get Ericsson vRAN equipment into its network.

“[Samsung’s] been very aggressive in our initial deployments with them, now with 5G are all vRAN based, and Ericsson is our other main radio access network supplier and they have vRAN in their roadmap and we're working closely with them now on the development aspects of that,” Koeppe said.

Verizon is also aiming to have half of its cell sites connected through its own deployed fiber optic cables by the end of the year. Koeppe said this was essential from a cost perspective as well as having more direct control over the quality of those high-speed connections.

This move also builds on Verizon’s move last month to upgrade its fiber core packet network using Juniper Networks equipment to quadruple network performance with a path toward future growth while also reducing resource requirements. The carrier tied the upgrade to surging network demands coming from 5G-based wireless and fixed-line services.

Verizon vRAN Work and C-Band Progress

Those cell site updates come as Verizon is also looking to push more spectrum resources to those locations.

The carrier recently completed lab trials where it used 200 megahertz of C-band spectrum to support 5G services. Koeppe noted that this test was designed to test the limits of its current network equipment to handle the most potential C-band spectrum Verizon could use per cell site.

“As you start to open up more of that bandwidth, 100 megahertz or 200 megahertz, you're going through the same type of testing process basically to ensure the infrastructure that's transmitting at that wide range and the device that's now looking for that full bandwidth, all of those things you want to ensure that they work in unison,” Koeppe said of the lab testing.

The carrier spent more than $45 billion on a majority of the C-band licenses that were up for bid during the government auction that ended early last year. Those licenses in the 3.7 GHz-3.98 GHz band covered the country and included between 140 megahertz and 200 megahertz each.

Verizon has since been aggressively inserting that spectrum into sites across the country in a move to bolster its 5G network capacity. That initial rollout has been limited to 60 megahertz per site, with plans to bump that capacity to 100 megahertz at some sites over the coming months.