Verizon Business updated its enterprise-focused fixed-wireless access (FWA) product with a new management portal and security features that provide IT departments with more control and access to the 4G LTE and 5G-powered service.

The cloud-based Business Internet Portal is a router management dashboard that provides an enterprise’s IT department with a central platform in which to manage FWA-based broadband connectivity. This includes the ability to monitor and self-manage routers that connect to the Verizon FWA service for backhaul connectivity and beam out a Wi-Fi signal to company employees and internal devices for that connectivity.

The management includes access to router status, signal strength, speed testing and Wi-Fi performance. It also provides access to historical data and performance improvement recommendations.

IT departments can also manage Wi-Fi passwords, device rebooting and view all devices that connect to the network. It also supports more advanced settings like local administration lock, the ability to save or restore router configurations, IP passthrough and firewall settings, and bulk configuration management for customers with multiple Verizon Business internet lines.

The cloud-based nature of the portal speaks to hybrid and distributed work environments, as does its ability to manage equipment from within a physical location and distributed to remote employees.

The Business Internet Portal is available for free to current Verizon Business Internet customers and can be self-installed. This self-service nature should allow Verizon to reduce initial and ongoing support for enterprise services.

The portal also provides access to the new Verizon Business Internet Security option. This two-tiered platform is an extra-cost security enhancement for 4G LTE and 5G Business Internet plans.

The basic tier runs $10 per line per month and includes ransomware protection, phishing prevention, anti-malware, malicious website blocking, and security insights and reporting. The advanced tier runs $20 per line per month, and adds customization for content filtering, URL access, IP address access and security configuration.

“By placing a layer of security at the internet gateway, threats can be intercepted before ever reaching the end device,” Verizon Business noted.

Verizon Business Chief Product Officer Debika Bhattacharya explained in a statement that the dynamic nature of the platform can help large enterprises secure large equipment deployments, while smaller organizations can lean on the platform’s recommendations and self-manage their scaling needs.

Verizon recently released its 2023 Data Breach Investigation Report that showed human error was at the center of 74% of data breaches. That means people were involved either via error, privilege misuse or stolen credentials that can come via being the victim of social engineering.

“Incorporating a network-native security service streamlines the ability of businesses to secure their operations and further accelerates the value that businesses can realize through the adoption of FWA,” Jason Leigh, research manager for mobility and 5G services at IDC, noted in a statement.

The latest Verizon Business update builds on forecasts of increased enterprise adoption of 5G-based FWA services. Gartner expects enterprises to plug 5G FWA services into their SD-WAN deployments, which the analyst firm said will grow from less than 1% of the market in 2021, to 10% in 2025.

Other operators are getting in on this opportunity.

T-Mobile US last year added a Cradlepoint 5G router to its business lineup that provides edge access for enterprises and embedded cloud-based managed and security features. The carrier earlier this year added Cisco devices that provide similar support for SD-WAN services.