The silence from Verizon is deafening
Verizon is up to something, but no one knows quite what.
Verizon will announce Q1 results on Monday.
Verizon is ostensibly working on something behind the scenes, but the "what" remains a mystery. Aside from a few musings on AI, CEO Dan Schulman hasn't betrayed any details about the value proposition he teased during the Q4 2025 earnings earlier this year. The big reveal likely drops Monday when the company reports its Q1 2026 financials.
New plans and the convergence play
We haven't heard a concrete peep from Verizon for months, fueling plenty of chatter from industry insiders.
Jeff Moore, principal at Wave7 Research, notes the recent drought of press releases, unbecoming for a company in the midst of a transition and desperate to stop ceding subscribers to AT&T and T-Mobile.
Verizon has been eerily quiet in recent months.
Jeff Moore, principal at Wave7 Research, April 2026
Even Roger Entner of Recon Analytics, who usually has a direct line to carrier secrets, seems to be in the dark, per Fierce Wireless.
We are all waiting with bated breath. They are extremely quiet about this stuff.
Roger Entner, Recon Analytics founder, April 2026
Mike Dano, lead industry analyst at Ookla, is willing to wager a guess. Dano, formerly a telecom journalist, believes the strategy will hinge on better use of its postpaid, prepaid, and wired offerings to entice customers. The company needs to craft a response to converged products from AT&T, Comcast and Charter, while simultaneously acknowledging the rise of of Starlink’s satellite service.
Verizon may also consider branching into third-party products such as a banking option.
On top of that, the company might refresh its plans, with new offerings focusing on cellular and internet bundles and satellite.
Verizon will also need to develop a competitive response to converged offerings from the likes of AT&T, Comcast and Charter, while addressing new market developments like Starlink’s fixed and mobile services.
Mike Dano, lead industry analyst at Ookla, April 2026
Navigating choppy waters
Schulman's first order of business was laying off 13,000 employees. These cuts hit contract workers hard, but that's not the only reason the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) wants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine its conduct.
NATE alleges that Verizon is not honoring the agreements to be transparent and fair with contractors who build and maintain its network. The company has denied those accusations, claiming it hasn't backed away from any commitment.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has been looped in. He said any failure to abide by the framework "would be a problem."
Meanwhile, Verizon admitted that it's not the network leader it once was, highlighting the need for differentiated offerings.
Not quite there yet
While Schulman's decisive first quarter yielded postpaid additions, Q1 2026 looks a bit bleaker. BNP Paribas expects the company to lose 104,000 net postpaid subscribers in Q1, a mix of 165,000 lost individual customers offset by 61,000 new business customers.
While that's a marked improvement over the 289,000 losses in Q1 2025, it's a flashing neon sign of the competitive pressure Verizon is under.
Why is Verizon still losing customers?
What's brewing?
Verizon's aggressive holiday promotions likely fueled the impressive Q4, but the company has since scaled back, underscoring the unsustainability of those deals.
With T-Mobile, AT&T, and other rivals rolling out affordable plans, Verizon can't afford to stand still.
A converged offering might be the only way forward, allowing customers to trim their bills by tethering both their wireless and wireline services to Big Red.
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