Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ Quick QuoteVZ - Free Report) has been instated as the nation’s best wireless carrier again by RootMetrics – a wireless industry research firm. The company took the top spot in terms of reliability, speed, data, calling and text messaging. Verizon’s immediate rival, AT&T Inc. (T Quick QuoteT - Free Report) was ranked second in all of the above except for one category. Sprint Corp. (S Quick QuoteS - Free Report) outpaced AT&T in terms of call quality. T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS Quick QuoteTMUS - Free Report) on the other hand, fell behind every other major U.S. carriers in the test.

Verizon’s Network Improvements Efforts

Verizon has been very active in expanding and improving its existing wireless networks. Recently, it acquired and installed dark fiber based network throughout its network in order to support the existing 4G LTE network and more importantly to transition into the upcoming 5G wireless network. Dark fiber provides abundant bandwidth which is of utmost necessity for the smooth functioning of super-fast wireless networks such as 4G and 5G.

Additionally, Verizon seems to be far ahead of others in its plans to deploy 5G wireless network. The company achieved a milestone as it became the first company in the world to issue an initial radio specification for the upcoming 5G wireless network and is eyeing for a commercial deployment of the same by 2017.

The Bottom Line

While the RootMetric test is just one of many similar tests done by wireless research firms across the country, rankings of the wireless carriers vary significantly. However, the fact that Verizon still manages to be in the top tier of these rankings consistently is indicative of its wireless strength.

A strong network enables the carrier to maintain its churn rate while improving average revenue per user (ARPU) going forward. Notably, Verizon had a blended churn rate of 1.19%, flat year over year.

Verizon presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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