Partners in innovation and compassion.

Happy Friday! On today’s Up To Speed Live, host Diana Alvear shared the following updates:

Unity partnership: a real gamer changer and more

Verizon Business is proud to announce a new partnership with Unity, a leader in the real-time 3D space. Together, we’ll enable new digital experiences ranging from entertainment apps to enterprise toolkits using 5G, MEC and 3D technology. This will transform gaming, retail and sports with instant content, faster speeds, higher bandwidth and ultra-low latency.

Exciting HUB deal

Verizon Business is also delivering managed network services, also known as network as a service, to more than 450 HUB offices throughout the U.S. and Canada. Verizon will transform their infrastructure into a multi-use network, allowing HUB to do what they do best and focus on their business of providing employee benefits, business and personal insurance products and services.

Feeding the frontline in Chi-town

Let’s head to the Windy City for the latest in our Food for Frontline Workers campaign. Verizon teamed up this week with Chicago Bears personnel (including mascot Staley Da Bear) to deliver some special meals to frontline healthcare workers at the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center in Chicago. Former Bears defensive back Jerry Azumah recorded a thank you message to staffers, who feasted on sandwiches from local restaurant Jus Sandwiches. The restaurant owner, military veteran Karen Roberts, used to work at that very medical center.

Food for Frontline Workers kicked off in April 2020, delivering more than 150,000 meals to frontline workers in cities across the U.S.

Our Florida Mega Pantry

Verizon has partnered with Feeding Tampa Bay to help provide meals to families facing hunger due to the COVID-19 crisis. They created a Mega Pantry at our Hillsborough Ave Call Center and can serve thousands of families at a time with 175,000 pounds of food – which is 22 times larger than a typical Mobile Pantry distribution. By utilizing the Hillsborough call center, Verizon and Feeding Tampa Bay are able to reduce the food pantry travel time for those in need.

A V Teamer takes customer service to a whole new level

We want to share our thanks and gratitude to Damien Merica, who works at a Verizon reseller store in Plainwell, MI, who went above and beyond the call of duty. According to his customer, not only did Damien provide stellar customer service, he also rushed outside when he witnessed a hit and run, checked on the victim and even snapped a pic of the car who caused the accident. Thank you to Damien and his customer who alerted us to his good deeds through a tweet.

Two new Verizon Ventures investments

Verizon Ventures also had some big news, announcing their investment in two companies:

• ShotTracker brings elite-level statistics to the basketball court. Their technology leverages sensors and benefits from 5G and MEC to provide valuable gameplay data and analytics in real time.
• Vdoo is making big moves and helping with AI-based security that helps monitor vulnerabilities in IoT devices.

Verizon Ventures connects innovators with smart funding, access to technological expertise, product development support, commercialization channels and market planning to deliver successful outcomes.

Inauguration success

We want to recognize and thank the Verizon Response Team for their flawless and careful work at the U.S. Presidential Inauguration this week. Their dedication to keeping us connected during our most critical moments is so important and inspiring.

Congratulations to one of our favorite filmmakers

Congratulations to Dyllan McGee for making InStyle magazine’s list of 50 women to watch. She’s the filmmaker behind the documentary “Not Done: Women Remaking America.” She is a two-time Emmy award winner and also launched Makers, a platform that supports the women’s movement. Her film company is dedicated to producing content that inspires a more fair and equitable world (founded with her husband, Mark Weigel).

Two chances for you to win

Join us Monday for a brief, but fun, episode of Up To Speed Live. Take the short trivia quiz for a chance to win some great prizes.

Then be sure to tune in again Tuesday, January 26, at 12 PM ET/9 AM PT to watch Hans and our leadership team for our 4Q results webcast. You’ll have a chance to win one of 10 new Samsung Galaxy S21 5Gs when they’re available. What a week of prizes!

If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

Get the latest information on our Coronavirus Resource Page (Inside Verizon, The Street).

Tell us what you think of Up To Speed.

V Teamers, click here to join the conversation on VZWeb.