Verizon wins contracts with US Air Force and one near Houston

Verizon announced two public sector contracts, one with the US Air Force and the other with an emergency services district near Houston, Texas.

The operator will deliver 5G to seven US Air Force Reserve Command installations in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, bringing the total number of sites served to 17.

A Verizon representative told Mobile World Live the deployments will include outdoor C-Band radios at each site, along with a combination of 4G and mmWave 5G used indoors at certain locations.

In a statement, Verizon explained its network will support animated simulation and training; full-motion, HD video for telemedicine; ultra-fast AI for biometric identification; and flight line test equipment, among other services.

Separately, the operator’s Verizon Frontline emergency services unit won a contract to provide smartphones and network services to a Texas district handling roughly 55,000 emergency calls annually.

Verizon has maintained momentum in the sector despite rival AT&T’s contract with FirstNet, which includes spectrum which can be dedicated to public safety.

Work to make Verizon Frontline interoperable with other operators’ public safety networks is ongoing to ensure first responders can interact. Mobileworldlive