10x faster.

Today’s episode of Up To Speed Live was all about speed. And lots of it.

10x faster

Today’s opening video with producer Jess Bonardi was all about the joy of living 10x faster. That tremendous speed — and what you can do with it — is one of our ‘Reasons To Believe’ for our new 5G Ultra Wideband, so be sure and spread the word.

We were able to catch up with some V Teamers who have been in our stores chatting with customers. They’ve been experiencing the excitement around Ultra firsthand. “10x faster experience means faster download speeds,” said Retail Specialist Vanessa-Rose Stokes from Noblesville, Indiana. “When you’re on the go or at home, your download speeds can be cut in half.”

Thanks to all of our retail V teamers who are out there serving our customers and participated in this video.

Getting lots of attention

And don’t just take our word for it when it comes to blazing fast speeds. Customers across the nation and media outlets like Tech Radar are taking notice. Check out what PCMag had to say: “The difference is noticeable, with considerably faster connections and less congestion.” Congrats to our teams for truly making our 5G… Ultra!

Talking speed with Duane Molitor

To help us understand what it really means to be 10x faster, Andy was joined by Duane Molitor a Principal Engineer on our Product Innovation and Realization team. Duane works on projects related to the metaverse and XR. The latter stands for ‘X Reality’ and encompasses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

“We see the opportunity to make XR relevant to our customers and partners,” said Duane. “I was the one who originally brought eyewear to Microsoft and now it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. We want to bring that same innovation to Verizon.”

Duane talked about using volumetric video capture to make parents who are away from home feel like they are in the same living room with their kids at home. He also brought up the possibility of using a virtual avatar of Andy to host Up To Speed, as well as real-time translation of languages so two people from different parts of the world can interact seamlessly.

Thanks to Duane and congrats to your team for truly creating the networks that move the world forward.

Super-fast football action

Andy kicked off the main show with his appreciation for the great NFL playoff games that took place over the weekend. Social media posts from our own Hans Vestberg showed his excitement for the 5G action he caught at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay. Multi-view continues to give fans a game-changing experience. Hans pulled a 2.6 gig download at the stadium, another example of our network’s amazing 5G speeds.

4Q Results webcast

It’s that exciting time of year again! Tomorrow is our 4Q21 Results webcast at 12 PM ET/9PM PT. We’re calling this our Ultra Earnings event. Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis will break down the financials and we’ll hear from Hans and many of our senior leaders. We will be celebrating all of the success coming from our launch of Ultra, and announcing our Credo Award winner.

Sneak peek at the Credo video

Speaking of the Credo, during tomorrow’s Earnings webcast we’ll debut our brand new Credo video. In today’s Up To Speed, Jess Bonardi took us behind the scenes of that production and showed how these amazing videos come to life.

For those of you who can’t wait until tomorrow and want to check out the full Credo video early, we have good news: The 2022 Credo video is now available on the Inside Verizon app. So if haven’t already, download the Inside Verizon app from the Apple App store or Google Play store and check it out.

Want an Ultra shirt?

You will also want to tune in tomorrow to see how you can enter to win some Ultra swag, including the snappy-looking ‘Ultra’ t-shirt that Andy was wearing today. If you are looking to get this shirt, you will definitely want to tune in tomorrow.

5G Ultra Challenge

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Well, our 5G Ultra Challenge contest is even better! Submit a creative video and let us know how you are sharing the good news of Ultra with your friends and family. Andy shared an amazing, green-screen-focused submission from Chad McLaughin, District Manager, Consumer Sales of Canton, Ohio. Thank you, Chad, for brightening our day and getting the word out.

When you shoot your own video, remember that you can focus on whatever you think is most appealing — the enhanced network, the new plans, expanded 5G Home and Business — whatever you think will get people most excited about Ultra in an ultra-special way.

Looking for some tools to help? We have those too, including assets like the Ultra Innovations or Reasons to Believe that are highlighted in the Ultra Show and all month long on Up To Speed.

Videos can be submitted starting now. If you’re uploading from a personal device, please drop your video at this link. If you’re using a Verizon device, please use this link. Note: Please label your video submission with your name and business group. Plus, we’ve got a great resource page on VZWeb with all of our 5G Ultra info.

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

Click here for a transcript of the webcast.

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