Ending the week with love.
A recap of 'I Love Verizon' week, plus a look at how we're blocking more robocalls, innovating with museums and more.
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Happy Friday! On today’s episode of Up To Speed Live, host Raquel Wilson shared the following updates:
Up To Speed week in review
- Monday: We heard from Hans and Sam about an important Work Forward update and a look at our future of work.
- Tuesday: Jess and Andy recapped their ultra-exciting experience at the big game and how we delivered the 5G Ultra Wideband experience to fans.
- Thursday: We were on the ground for the Phoenix Open where we hyped up 5G Home and Business Internet and #ACallForKindness.
5G Ultra Challenge winners
Our 5G Ultra Challenge wrapped up on Friday, and it’s been so much fun watching all the entertaining submissions. We’ve had rapping, beat boxing, surfing waffles (you read that correctly), more than one ultra-fast car, and some seriously hyped sales pitches. The creativity and excitement really brought 5G Ultra Wideband to life.
Congratulations to our winners: Jonathan Buia, Veronica Davis, Nathan Jones, Jeffrey Lane, Steven Lytle, Svitlana Mazzo, Michael Raj, Trent Redmond, Gabriel Serafin, Tyrai Thomas, Osmar Trujillo and Kevin Verax!
Check out all of the winning 5G Ultra Challenge submissions, and let us know your favorite in the comments.
BHM event: Krista and Shellye conversation
Yesterday, our “Unapologetically Ambitious” LinkedIn Live broadcast – one of several Black History Month events championing Knowledge in Action – featured Consumer Group Chief Operating Officer Krista Bourne and Verizon Board member Shellye Archambeau leading a thoughtful discussion. Shellye shared her career journey, including her 16 years serving as the CEO of MetricStream, Inc., and focused on how we can all achieve our ambitions through actionable steps.
Krista asked Shellye how she develops personal sponsors. “In my experience, I do that by being a really good mentee,” Shellye said. “When people give you advice or feedback, it’s really important to close the loop with them and let them know how it impacted you. Otherwise, they really don’t know. When you give that note of thanks, it feels good for that person, and they will remember you when opportunities come up.”
Supercharged Fios in parts of NYC
As Frank Sinatra once sang about New York City, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” Fios is proving that more than ever in the Big Apple with a new 2-gigabit connection plan in select areas. That means upload and download speeds averaging between 1.5 gigabits per second and 2.3 gigabits per second, which is the fastest ever for customers in these areas.
And if you aren’t in NYC, don’t fret: The service will be expanding to other cities this year. If you have any relatives or besties who would be interested in this news, make sure to share your Friends & Family code to save up to $10 per month off Fios when they switch to Verizon online. Get started with your code on the About You page and learn more about how to share.
Fios isn’t the only thing expanding! Verizon now provides more than 30 million households and more than 2 million businesses the ability to access reliable, fast plug-and-play wireless internet services around the country. This covers an additional 10 million households since last month’s launch.
Improved Call Filter
To date, Verizon has blocked 20 billion unwanted calls for 80 million customers. Now, the Call Filter app has a new look and provides even more options to filter unwanted calls. All postpaid customers now can send calls identified as potential spam to voicemail. Plus, there’s Share Name ID, which helps with Caller ID.
Chances are, you already have Call Filter. Take a look at the My Verizon app or the Call Filter app on your phone to check it out.
A prestigious award for our retail team
We’re proud to announce Verizon has been recognized by Modern Retail as the 2021 winner for Best Omnichannel Strategy. We were honored for our nimble pivot to touchless retail to accommodate changing consumer behaviors and needs. It’s a testament to the execution and operational excellence our team delivered at a time that was so critical for our customers.
Verizon Climate Resilience winners
This week, Verizon awarded a total of $500,000 to three Verizon Climate Resilience prize winners: Hyfi, Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, and Coral Vita. These awards will be used to help scale innovative solutions to reduce climate-change impacts on communities.
Futurizing museums
Verizon Innovative Learning HQ’s library is launching a $1 million Museum Initiative to connect educators nationwide with museums and cultural institutions to showcase innovative EdTech approaches that weave together physical and digital experiences. NYC Media Lab will select as many as 10 institutions and award each recipient up to $100,000.
Building the future of journalism
Speaking of innovation, Verizon and the Los Angeles Times have partnered to accelerate the deployment of advanced robotics and other tech to innovate new ways to gather, share and consume news. This will be a gamechanger for the future of journalism.
A week of Verizon love
It’s “I Love Verizon” week again, the weeklong celebration that fittingly started on Valentine’s Day and highlights all of the things we love about Verizon. That includes our people, networks, products, services and employee perks. V Teamers in the Consumer Group celebrated by putting customers and those who serve them in the spotlight – connecting and sharing their love, while paying tribute to Verizon’s status as the employer of choice.
If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.
