Verizon Business’ first quarter results again highlighted wireless's growing influence on the segment, which has seen its wireline business revenues lag.
Overall, Verizon Business revenue was $7.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024, down 1.6 percent year over year, as increases in wireless service revenue were more than offset by decreases in wireline and wireless equipment revenue.
During the quarter, the service provider reported that business wireless service was $3.4 billion, up 2.7 percent year over year.
Verizon said the business segment's wireless growth was driven by continued substantial net additions in the quarter for mobility and fixed wireless, as well as benefits from pricing actions implemented in recent quarters. The Business segment reported 178,000 wireless retail postpaid net additions in the first quarter of 2024, including 90,000 postpaid phone net additions.
“Business volume results were challenged early in the quarter as the team implemented pricing increases in January,” said Anthony Skiadas, Verizon's CFO, during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. “However, we saw positive net add momentum to build throughout the quarter and exited the quarter well positioned to continue building on operational improvements in mobility and broadband.”
FWA Factor
In tandem with the ongoing adoption of its traditional wireless mobility solutions, Verizon Business's use of fixed wireless continues to rise.
For the quarter, fixed wireless net adds for consumers were 151,000, setting what Verizon said was a new high.
“We’ve been pleased with how businesses have adopted FWA, and we continue to see strong demand from small businesses and enterprises attracted to the ease of deployment, reliability, and the product's flexibility,” said Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications.
NaaS, private wireless, ramps
As seen in earlier quarters, Verizon Business continued to see growing interest for its private wireless practice and network as a service (NaaS) offerings.
“We also had a great quarter in private networks, signing transformative deals across industries,” Vestberg said.
Xerox adopted Verizon’s Network as a Service (NaaS) Solutions framework to modernize its IT system. Verizon’s NaaS solutions offer a range of pre-configured and managed services on a subscription-based consumption model.
Verizon signed a private network deal with Cummins and is finding opportunities in the American sports league segment. During the quarter, Verizon held a partner summit where it unveiled its sports and entertainment strategy.
Within the sports segment, Verizon found that NFL fan usage of its connectivity has continued to rise. According to its consumer connection report, the average fan used more data during the ‘'23-‘24 NFL season than the previous year.
“We’re already in every National Football League stadium in the country,” Vestberg said. “We’re now expanding services with NFL teams, including installing a private 5G network at the L.A. Chargers Training facility. We also renewed our partnership as the official 5G network of the National Hockey League in the United States and are expanding services throughout its arenas.”
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