Verizon continues to upgrade El Paso's best network

EL PASO, TX – Customers in El Paso, Texas have an unbeatable experience when using the Verizon network, according to the nation’s most rigorous scientific testing company RootMetrics®. In the most recent test measuring performance of the major wireless carriers throughout El Paso, Verizon is unsurpassed for overall network performance, and is unbeaten in every single category measured including accessibility, speed, reliability and performance in texts and calls. Today’s results show remarkable speeds for Verizon customers in El Paso with Verizon’s median download speed increasing 142% in the market since last year*.

“We know customers count on us, and we work everyday to ensure we deliver for them,” said Phillip French, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for Verizon. “We will not slow down. In fact, our team in El Paso has been driving enhancements in the network at a record pace to ensure customers in this community have the network experience they expect from Verizon.”

Network enhancements in El Paso, TX

These top marks are a result of months of deploying new enhancements in the network for those who live in and visit the El Paso area. Network engineers have been busy deploying 5G Ultra Wideband service throughout El Paso, with 5G service added to over 140 cell sites throughout the community. 100 of those cell sites are providing 5G Ultra Wideband using Millimeter Wave (mmWave), its premium, high band spectrum which allows for extremely fast speeds and massive capacity. These sites primarily cover the El Paso Downtown and the Eastside Business districts where customer data usage is extremely high. Other enhancements improved network service in the areas of the El Paso Community College-Valle Verde Campus and the El Paso Country Club in west El Paso.

Much of this 5G service is using Verizon’s newly acquired C-band spectrum. Until this year in El Paso, Verizon has been restricted to using 60 MHz of the spectrum they secured, but by the end of this year, customers in El Paso will be able to take advantage of 100 MHz of C-band, almost doubling the spectrum available for 5G Ultra Wideband. That additional spectrum will turbo charge the service, offering significantly higher speeds, much greater capacity to accommodate more customers and more robust services.

“Think of it this way, we are adding more lanes onto an already incredibly wide and fast highway,” said French. “The more lanes, the more cars can get on and off the interstate and the faster they can drive. In the same way, the more spectrum we open up on our network, the more data can move across our network faster and more efficiently.”

One key element that differentiates Verizon’s service for their customers is their ownership and use of fiber connections to cell sites. Fiber optic cables are used to move data between cell sites and connect those sites to the rest of the network. Verizon has increased the capacity on the fiber connections in many cell sites in the El Paso area so they can carry 10 times the amount of data. These upgrades will continue throughout this year.

“With 5G, people are doing more things in more places with their wireless devices, and we now see Verizon Home Internet customers, who are using the same network infrastructure, using more data as well,” said French. “We’ve exponentially increased the capacity on our cell sites with all the C-band and mmWave spectrum we’re using in the market, but we don’t want the fiber connections to our cell sites to be a bottleneck that could slow the pace of data traffic moving around our network. That’s why we have increased those pipes as well.”

Services from the network customers rely on

For customers in El Paso, the additional coverage and capacity means more customers now have access not only to reliable, fast mobile service, but also Verizon Home Internet service, a different kind of home internet with no data caps. It’s ideal for anyone who wants super fast connectivity to stream, game or even work remotely. Verizon Home Internet is reliable and fast enough to power home connected devices: smart TVs, tablets, phones, gaming consoles and more. Plans start at just $25 per month with AutoPay and a select 5G mobile plan – all without extra fees, equipment charges, annual contracts or data caps.** Go to verizon.com/home for availability. Visit verizon.com/deals for the latest 5G phones and accessories.

Additionally, through Verizon Frontline, the advanced network and technology developed over three decades of partnership with first responders to meet their unique and evolving needs, public safety agencies in the El Paso area will also be able to experience the benefits of these network enhancements. To learn more about Verizon Frontline, visit verizon.com/frontline.

El Paso area businesses have access to 5G Business Internet from Verizon. 5G Business Internet is ultra-fast wireless business internet powered by 5G Ultra Wideband. This wireless alternative to cable internet is for businesses of all sizes and includes self-setup or professional installation options, multiple pricing and service options, unlimited data, and a 10-year price guarantee for 5G Business Internet service. To learn more about Verizon 5G Business Internet, visit verizon.com/5gbusinessinternet and plug in an address to see what service is available.

*Rankings based on the RootMetrics® El Paso RootScore® Reports: 1H 2023. Tested with best commercially available smartphones on three mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of Verizon.

**5G Home Internet services available in select areas. Save $25/mo. when combined with an existing 5G Do More, 5G Play More, 5G Get More or One Unlimited for iPhone plan. With Auto Pay and paper-free billing req’d. Add’l $10/mo. w/o Auto Pay. Subject to credit approval.