Verizon Communications Inc. (ticker: VZ) isn’t playing around in the great mobile wars of 2016, attempting to give consumers more of what they want in the face of bolstered competitor efforts.
The company touted new 50 percent faster peak wireless data speeds for 39 of its capable phones and tablets — dubbed Verizon LTE Advanced — in a news release, available in 461 cities across the U.S. The new technology funnels two or three multiple bandwidth channels into one larger one, enabling data to function most efficiently. This is referred to as carrier aggregation.
The update comes at no added cost for consumers. Engadget notes, though, the company didn’t specify how the phone will actually “take advantage of these higher speeds.”
This latest news from Verizon comes after major shifts from its competitors Sprint Corp. (S), T-Mobile US (TMUS) and AT&T (T) in the realm of unlimited data and the elimination of overage charges. Verizon also recently launched an attack ad featuring Jamie Foxx against Sprint after it hired away Verizon’s “Can you hear me now” pitchman, Paul Marcarelli. Foxx has now appeared in a series of company ads.
Marcelo Claure, Sprint’s CEO, is a particularly prolific Twitter user and shows no hesitation in calling out his competitors. In recent days, he shared Sprint and Samsung’s three-channel carrier aggregation live demonstration press release on the platform and retweeted a dig at Verizon.
Sprint and Samsung Take Three-Channel Carrier Aggregation into the Field with Live Demonstration in Chicago https://t.co/IxSwNMjT3z
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) August 29, 2016
Jamie Foxx also shows map of @verizon customers with no Unlimited option. #SwitchToSprint @marceloclaure @GregPost11 pic.twitter.com/nlWQD3KJoX
— Ken (@4GKennyG) August 28, 2016
On Aug. 18, he tweeted “Delete Your Account” at Verizon’s incoming Wireless CEO, Ronan Dunne. Dunne, however, could prove a new Twitter adversary for Claure.
Hint @ronandunneo2 Delete Your Account https://t.co/MvFbLgsQGC
— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) August 18, 2016
Verizon’s stock was down 0.75 percent on Tuesday, although it is up about 13 percent on the year.
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Verizon Communications Inc. Is Ramping Up Data (VZ) originally appeared on usnews.com
Correction 08/30/16: A previous version of this story misspelled Paul Marcarelli’s name.
