Verizon

Germanyโ€™s largest operator is turning e-waste into engagement currency with a take-back drive that mixes material recovery with headline incentives. Deutsche Telekom estimates 195 million unused phones are sitting idle in Germany, locking up valuable materials and ESG progress. The company is reframing those devices as an urban mineโ€”rich in gold, copper, and critical mineralsโ€”and as a lever to scale circularity ahead of its 2030 ambition to make all IT and network technology, and most end-user devices, recyclable or reusable. By the end of 2024, the operator had already taken back more than 11 million phones across the group.
Hospitals are turning to a dual-network model that pairs neutral host coverage with private 5G to handle surging data, device density, and distinct user groups across large clinical campuses. Healthcare networks are stressed by electronic health records, telehealth, connected medical equipment, and higher patient expectations for always-on mobile service. A combined neutral host and private 5G architecture lets IT leaders segment traffic and policy by role and use case, align with data sovereignty requirements, and scale capacity as device fleets and AI-driven workflows grow. The model separates public cellular access for general users from dedicated private 5G for clinical and operational workloads.
Mint Mobile is expanding from prepaid wireless into fixed wireless access, introducing a 5G home internet offer that targets price-sensitive households and small offices with unlimited data and headline speeds up to 415 Mbps for as low as $30 per month. The companyโ€™s โ€œMINTernetโ€ is a self-install 5G home internet service that rides on T-Mobileโ€™s nationwide 5G network, following T-Mobileโ€™s acquisition of Mintโ€™s parent Kaโ€™ena Corporation in 2024. At a starting price of $30 per month, Mint undercuts many cable and fiber entry tiers and lands below other national 5G FWA offers, which typically range from $35 to $60 depending on mobile bundle eligibility.
New usage data shows AT&T subscribers are tapping into T-Mobileโ€™s Starlink-powered T-Satellite more than expected, signaling a rapid shift in how carriers and customers think about direct-to-device connectivity. Speedtest intelligence indicates T-Mobile users account for the majority of direct-to-device (D2D) connections to Starlink, roughly six in ten overall and more than seven in ten among devices reporting active service at connection time. The surprise is AT&Tโ€™s footprint: about a third of observed connections come from AT&T subscribers, while Verizonโ€™s share is minimal.
T-Mobile US expanded its Advanced Network Solutions portfolio with Edge Control and T-Platform, aiming to deliver private network-like performance over its nationwide 5G-Advanced footprint while simplifying how enterprises deploy, govern, and scale edge workloads. Edge Control enables cellular traffic to exit locally and flow directly into an enterpriseโ€™s edge compute environment, rather than traversing centralized cores or the public internet. T-Platform is T-Mobileโ€™s customer portal for managing business services, including Edge Control. Traditional MEC offers low-latency access to hyperscaler edge zones but often relies on internet or backhaul paths that add jitter and sovereignty concerns.
Verizon and AST SpaceMobile have advanced their partnership into a definitive commercial agreement to deliver space-based cellular coverage in the United States starting in 2026. The agreement enables Verizon subscribers to connect โ€œwhen neededโ€ to AST SpaceMobileโ€™s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites using standard, unmodified phones. AST says service will focus on coverage gaps across the continental U.S., and will extend Verizonโ€™s premium 850 MHz low-band spectrum into remote areas. AST highlights successful space tests as proof points and positions the network for both commercial and government use.
Verizon has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Starry, a fixed wireless broadband specialist focused on MDUs across Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington, D.C. Starry brings nearly 100,000 broadband customers and an MDU-centric network architecture built around wideband millimeter-wave and hybrid fiber. Verizon said the move will support its ambition to double fixed wireless subscribers to roughly 8โ€“9 million by 2028 and extend availability to about 90 million households. Starryโ€™s in-market MDU know-how and neutral-host friendly building relationships give Verizon a fast path to scale in cities where it already owns substantial fiber backhaul and large 28/39 GHz mmWave holdings.
AT&T has gone live on Boldyn Networksโ€™ neutral-host infrastructure in New Yorkโ€™s Joralemon Street tunnel, with G line tunnel segments next in the rollout. AT&T customers can now access 5G mobile service through the 1.1-mile (1.8 km) Joralemon Street tunnel, the oldest underwater subway tunnel in New York City, which links the 4/5 lines between Borough Hall in Brooklyn and Bowling Green in Manhattan. Subway connectivity has shifted from convenience to critical infrastructure for safety, accessibility, and productivity. AT&Tโ€™s first-mover status sets a competitive benchmark; other national carriers (Verizon and Tโ€‘Mobile) are expected to follow as on-boarding progresses across the system.
In 2024, the U.S. cable sector generated $568.7 billion in total economic output and supported 1.3 million jobs across the country. This footprint spans broadband networks, video programming, construction, manufacturing, and a broad vendor ecosystem. It underscores why cable remains a central pillar of Americaโ€™s connectivity and media economy even as consumption shifts to IP and streaming. Cable broadband providersโ€”led by Comcast, Charter Communications (Spectrum), Cox, Altice USA (Optimum), Mediacom, Cable One (Sparklight), and WOW!โ€”accounted for $366 billion in total economic impact and nearly 888,000 jobs.
Verizonโ€™s digital sub-brand Visible is extending from app-only to omnichannel, adding BestBuy.com today and a nationwide in-store rollout on September 28. Visible offers unlimited data, talk, and text on Verizonโ€™s 5G-capable network, plus unlimited mobile hotspot and no annual contracts. Customers keep the app-led experience – account setup, activation, billing, and support, while gaining retail conveniences like immediate SIM pickup, device compatibility checks, and help from trained associates. The Best Buy partnership signals a broader shift toward hybrid digital-retail engagement in U.S. wireless. Retail staff can guide eSIM setup and BYOD compatibility using GSMA eSIM standards and device tools, shortening time-to-service.
As the U.N. General Assembly convened, U.S. authorities quietly removed a dense cluster of SIM servers and cards that investigators say could have overloaded mobile networks and disrupted emergency communications across the New York metro area. Investigators seized more than 300 SIM servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards distributed across multiple sites within 35 miles of the United Nations complex. Mass device farms can generate signaling storms that overwhelm cell sites and the mobile core, similar in effect to a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Verizon has launched a 6G Innovation Forum to accelerate research, trials, and standards alignment for the next generation of wireless. The forum convenes major RAN suppliers, including Ericsson, Samsung Electronics, and Nokia – alongside platform and device ecosystem players such as Meta and Qualcomm Technologies. The stated goal is an open, diversified, and resilient 6G ecosystem with global alignment from the outset. Verizon will back the forum with hands-on environments, starting with a dedicated 6G Lab in Los Angeles. Early priorities include testing new spectrum bands and bandwidths, and validating interoperability with mainstream standards bodies.

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