Verizon has purchased Starry Internet, a company that provides wireless home internet service in major cities. The move is part of Verizon's strategy to grow its home internet customer base while solving a technical problem that's been slowing down its mobile network.
According to RCR Wireless, the deal comes during a busy week for Verizon, which also saw CEO Hans Vestberg step down and the company announce a satellite partnership with AST SpaceMobile. The price of the Starry acquisition wasn't disclosed but appears to be relatively small.
Starry started in 2016 and uses special wireless technology to beam internet to apartment buildings in five cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington D.C. The company emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year with around 100,000 customers paying between $30 and $75 per month depending on their internet speed.
For Verizon, the acquisition solves a key challenge. When people use Verizon's 5G home internet service, they consume lots of data that can bog down the same cell towers used by mobile phone customers. By taking over Starry's separate wireless infrastructure in apartment-heavy areas, Verizon can move some home internet customers off its main mobile network, freeing up space for smartphone users.
Verizon aims to double its home internet customers to around 8 to 9 million by 2028. The company currently has just over 5 million home internet subscribers, combining both traditional fiber connections and wireless service. That's still behind competitors like T-Mobile's 7 million and AT&T's 14 million, and far behind cable companies like Comcast and Charter, which each have more than 30 million customers.
Source: RCR Wireless
