More than a Friday Feeling.

Happy Friday, V Team! On today’s edition of Up To Speed Live, host Raquel Wilson shared the following updates from our Boston week-in-residence:

• Monday: Andy went live from our Boston Hub with the help of our New England V Teamers, and we even hosted a fashion show that highlighted one of our small-business customers: Maybe Crazy.
• Tuesday: We caught up with Kevin Service, leader of our Network Operations team, as well as some of our hard-working Fios techs in South Boston.
• Thursday: We checked out our North End retail store and found out why its proximity to TD Garden has been so beneficial.

It was a week full of fun, 5G, innovation and quality time with our New England V Teamers. For nearly two decades, we’ve committed resources to ensure Boston will continue to be a place where innovation and inspiration thrive for centuries to come. But before we wrap up our Boston experience, we have one more surprise.

Boston Hub Demos

Andy took us inside the Innovation Center at our Boston Hub to give us a closer look at how our Boston V Teamers are taking innovation to the next level. We heard from our Director of 5G Labs and Innovation Centers, Christian Guirnalda. He explained how we’re utilizing game changing new technologies, including a cutting edge virtual production stage, to bringing gaming and entertainment to the next level. We also saw demos from Vice President of Business Production Engineering Andrea Caldini; Dave Strumwasser of our Business Operations Advanced Collaboration Team; Executive Director of Consumer Product Engineering Dan Murphy; and Our CTO of Verizon Connect Nick Power and Manager of Partner Solutions Architect Trent Norris.

LEED-certified

Big news on the sustainability front: This week, we learned that the building Verizon calls home in downtown Boston has been certified LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council.

This is Verizon’s first major regional hub to occupy a LEED platinum building. Our long-term lease for this regional hub, to which proceeds of our first Green Bond were allocated, helped support the development of the building.

Oracle news

This week, we also announced our partnership with Oracle to explore how Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband can transform industries, including utilities, manufacturing, communications, construction and engineering.

With Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband now online at the Oracle Industry Lab near Chicago, partners and customers can explore, create and test 5G use-cases that create opportunities and solve industry challenges, including carbon reduction, worker safety, sustainable building and more. Click here to see the lab in action.

NFL Draft

Our support of the 2022 NFL draft features several network assets. We have 5G Ultra Wideband, C-Band, and 4G LTE services throughout the NFL experience and main stage.

And for the fan experience we had the 5G Plug and Play Challenge where we educated people about 5G Home. All while NFL stars, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa kicked-off several tasks during the game that highlight the benefits of 5G Home and 5G Business.

SMB Days

Speaking of the NFL Draft, if you happened to tune in last night, there’s a good chance you saw a commercial about Small Business Days.

Now through May 4, our small-business customers can make an appointment or just visit participating stores to receive a complimentary tech evaluation with our trained Verizon Business Experts. Our teams can also set them up with the right 5G plans, devices, security, internet and other business services. We’ll also be offering small-business owners up to $1,500 to cover the cost of switching to Verizon, with one month on us.

But wait, there’s more! On “Good Morning America,” we saw one of the newest New York Giants talk about Small Business Days, and we introduced a very special business customer who’s making a huge impact in the community.

HOMEICE Experience

On Wednesday, Verizon Business announced the New York Islanders are using BlueJeans by Verizon to provide video-enabled watch parties in their HOMEICE Experience platform within the UBS Arena mobile app.

HOMEICE allows fans to chat live with National Hockey League alumni and insiders, as well as score points and win prizes by participating in trivia and polls while watching the game. Through our 5G Ultra Wideband network, it’s helping hockey fans enjoy a simulation of the in-arena experience through face-to-face fan engagement.

5G expansion

If you’ve got the beach on your mind this weekend, here’s something to celebrate: Ocean City, Maryland is now a 5G Home community! They’re now part of the 100 million plus households who will get those blazing fast speeds for just 25 dollars a month.

AAPI Month

Today is the last business day of Diversity Month, as we’ve celebrated the theme “UNITED Together.” It was a month full of insightful events presented by Verizon’s UNITED Employee Resource Group.

Since diversity deserves an ongoing celebration, we’re also excited for May, when we’re highlighting Asian American and Pacific Islander Month with the theme of “Celebrate allyship. Rise above challenges. Ride the tide.”

Raquel introduced a video for PACE (Pan Asian Corporate Excellence), whose active members spoke about what this Verizon ERG community means to them, and encouraged other V Teamers to join. Whether you are an ally, want to be an ally, or need an ally, this month’s programming will further enlighten and inspire participants about the benefits of advocacy.

VZPulse+ survey reminder

At Verizon, your feedback matters! It’s how we’ve managed to move Forward Together and create a great place to work. Starting Monday, you’ll have another opportunity to make your voice heard by participating in our VZPulse+ survey.

The survey will be open until May 16, but V Teamers who complete the survey on the first day will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win our most popular Verizon-branded Ultra Campaign T-shirt. Both the survey and the drawing are completely confidential and handled by Gallup, our external partner, to ensure the privacy of your responses.

Our next adventure

Before we closed out our show we had a special surprise from Andy who shared some exciting news. Next Wednesday, May 4, Up To Speed will be live from London! We’ll be joined by Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business Group. Plus, we’ll be catching up with some of London V Teamers all while showcasing how we’re a global brand. So be sure to mark your calendars for next Wednesday at 7 ET and at noon (London time).

If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

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