Verizon boosts investment in Texas to accommodate recent massive, pandemic-related influx of people

DALLAS, TX – Since the beginning of the pandemic, Texas has seen a large increase in individuals moving to the Lone Star state. Verizon is responding to Texas’ exponential and unexpected population increase by allocating an additional $97.9 million to its local capital spending to meet growing demands on the network.

From January 2020 to April of this year, more than 200,000 Verizon wireless customers have moved to Texas, and data traffic has spiked. Since January 2020, busy-hour traffic in Dallas increased 81.3%, in Houston 84.5%, in San Antonio 74.6%, and Austin a jaw-dropping 323.2%.

“The pandemic changed many things about how and where people use their Verizon service,” said Kyle Malady, EVP and President, Global Networks and Technology. “We are committed to delivering the very best possible network experience to our customers, including those who are permanently changing locations to Texas and other places. We revised our forecasting models and are pouring additional capital into the state to grow our coverage and capacity to meet the increased demands.”

Recent and ongoing network expansion

Massive investments the last two years have added much needed capacity to the network and have accelerated network expansions and 5G growth, both in mobility and fixed wireless access. In 2020 and 2021, Verizon invested over $2 billion in the state of Texas. That investment was used to expand 4G LTE capacity, introduce and grow Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service, and support first responders and the community in natural disaster recovery efforts. This investment also supports Verizon’s core areas of growth and innovation across mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge compute and business solutions, the value market and network monetization.

Consistent capital investments based on consumer usage growth models are critical in order to stay ahead of demand. The increase of more than 200,000 devices has shifted those investment models, so in addition to the annual capital expenditure budgets allocated for Texas, Verizon will invest $97.9 million above and beyond its annual CapEx to meet the growing needs.

Investments over the next two years will include building nearly 6,000 new network solutions including new macro towers, small cell sites and repeaters to increase 4G LTE capacity and coverage, expanding 5G Ultra Wideband service in areas where 5G currently is and to new markets throughout Texas, expanding the underlying fiber footprint that carries data throughout the network and supporting Texans and first responders in the upcoming hurricane season. Verizon will also enhance coverage at major population centers and gathering places including NRG Stadium, PNC Stadium, Toyota Stadium, Alamodome, Circuit of The Americas, the Austin Convention Center, the

San Antonio Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center, the PGA area in Little Elm, DFW Airport, Love Field Airport, and George Bush Airport.

Verizon remains keenly focused on Texas and providing a highly reliable network to meet the growing needs in the state.