Sun Oct 12 01:30:00 UTC 2025: **Verizon to Acquire Fixed Wireless Provider Starry, Boosting FWA Capabilities**

**NEW YORK, NY** – Verizon announced today its plans to acquire fixed wireless ISP Starry, a move aimed at accelerating its fixed wireless access (FWA) capabilities and expanding its reach in multi-dwelling units (MDUs). The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, will bring Starry’s technology and approximately 100,000 subscribers in five major markets – Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, and Washington, D.C./Virginia – under Verizon’s umbrella. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Starry, founded in 2016, utilizes a proprietary near-line-of-sight technology operating on shared spectrum licenses in the mmWave bands. Industry analysts point to Starry’s sophisticated and cost-efficient technology as the key value for Verizon. This technology employs rooftop base stations to transmit signals to multiple building-mounted receivers, allowing a single base station to serve numerous buildings.

“This deal will allow us to accelerate our FWA capabilities,” said Joe Russo, Verizon’s EVP and president of global networks and technology. He praised Starry’s technology for being less expensive and quicker to deploy, allowing Verizon to leverage its existing fiber and mmWave assets.

Starry’s journey has been a rollercoaster, including a brief stint as a public company after going public through a SPAC in March 2022, followed by a bankruptcy filing and subsequent re-emergence as a privately held company in August 2023.

While Starry offered competitive pricing, with plans ranging from 200 Mbps for $30 per month to 1 Gbps for $75 per month, it struggled to scale beyond its initial five markets due to limited resources. According to Ookla’s Speedtest data, Starry’s median download speeds have been increasing, surpassing Verizon’s current FWA speeds in the markets it serves.

The acquisition of Starry aligns with Verizon’s existing strategy to target MDUs with FWA solutions. While Verizon’s overall FWA subscriber goal remains unchanged at 8 million to 9 million by 2028, the company expects the Starry acquisition to accelerate its progress towards that goal. The move signals Verizon’s continued commitment to expanding its FWA footprint and utilizing mmWave spectrum to deliver high-speed internet. The challenge will be to overcome the scalability challenges previously faced by Starry.

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