"WE HAVE BUSTED THE MYTH THAT IT HAS TO BE LINE OF SIGHT. IT DOES NOT. WE BUSTED THE MYTH THAT FOLIAGE WILL SHUT IT DOWN. I MEAN THAT WAS BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN A PINE NEEDLE WOULD STOP IT. THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. AND THESE THINGS -- IN THE 200 FEET FROM A HOME, WE'RE NOW DESIGNING THE NETWORK FOR OVER 2,000 FEET FROM TRANSMITTER TO RECEIVER, WHICH HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR CAPITAL NEED GOING FORWARD. SO THOSE MYTHS HAVE DISAPPEARED. WE'RE CHARGING AHEAD," says Verizon Chairman & CEO Lowell McAdam
CNBC Exclusive: CNBC Transcript: Verizon Chairman & CEO Lowell McAdam Speaks with CNBC’s David Faber Today
Published 2:12 PM ET Tue, 15 May 2018CNBC.com
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on the future of 5G from CNBC.
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, May 15, 2018
The following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam and CNBC's David Faber on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F 9AM – 11AM) today, Tuesday, May 15th. The following is a link to full video of the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/15/verizon-ceo-lowell-mcadam-5g-future.html?play=1.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
DAVID FABER: WELL, 5G IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF WIRELESS SERVICE AND IT MAY BE CLOSER THAN MANY PEOPLE THINK. YESTERDAY VERIZON CEO LOWELL McADAM AND I – HE INVITED ALL OF US FOR A CLOSER LOOK TO UNDERSTAND HOW A WORLD FUNCTIONING IN THE 5G NETWORK WILL IMPACT HEALTH CARE, GAMING AND EVEN HOW WE CROSS THE STREET. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF IT RIGHT THERE. JOINING ME NOW IS VERIZON'S CHAIRMAN AND CEO LOWELL McADAM, RIGHT HERE ON THE FLOOR OF THE NYSE. THANKS AND THANKS FOR THE TOUR YESTERDAY. WAS INTERESTING OF COURSE. NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE. YOU HAVE A – BASICALLY 5G COMING INTO A LARGE SETUP WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT SOFTWARE ENGINEERS, APPLICATIONS, PEOPLE COMING IN FROM OTHER COMPANIES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT ALL IS GOING TO WORK. HOW FAR ARE WE FROM ACTUALLY SEEING SOME OF THIS STUFF HIT THE CONSUMER OR BUSINESS?
LOWELL McADAM: YEAH, I THINK WE'RE A LOT CLOSER THAN PEOPLE THINK, DAVID. WE'VE ALREADY ANNOUNCED THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO THREE TO FIVE CITIES. WE'RE LOCKING IN ON FOUR THIS YEAR. SO WE'LL BE COMMERCIAL. TWO OF THOSE ARE SACRAMENTO AND LOS ANGELES.
FABER: WE SHOULD POINT OUT, LOS ANGELES – THAT'S NEWS RIGHT NOW. THAT HAS NOT BEEN SHARED PREVIOUSLY. SO, L.A. WILL BE THE SECOND THAT WE KNOW ABOUT OF THE FOUR CITIES THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE ROLLING OUT IN. WHEN ARE YOU ROLLING OUT?
McADAM: WELL, WE'LL LAUNCH BY FOURTH QUARTER. SO THAT'S OUR – THAT'S OUR PLAN. WE'VE HAD SOME GREAT PARTNERSHIPS WITH SOME FORWARD LOOKING MAYORS, MARTY WALSH IN BOSTON IS A GOOD EXAMPLE. MAYOR GARCETTI IN L.A. SO WE WANT TO REALLY BE ABLE TO SHOW THE SCALE OF 5G AND THE IMPACT THAT IT WILL HAVE ON PEOPLE ACROSS ALL THE APPLICATIONS, SOME OF WHICH YOU JUST MENTIONED.
FABER: RIGHT, AND WHILE YESTERDAY I SAW A LOT OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS, SO MUCH OF IT HAS TO DO WITH THE LACK OF WHAT WE CALL LATENCY. THERE'S NO LONGER ANY LAG TIME. EVERYTHING IS IMMEDIATE AND THAT ALLOWS FOR SO MANY NEW APPLICATIONS, DOESN'T IT, IN TERMS OF NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE AT HOME REALLY BUT MORE FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS AND CONNECTING PEOPLE AROUND BUSINESS DECISIONS EVEN.
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McADAM: YEAH, WELL THERE IS A LOT OF CONFUSION ABOUT 5G AT THIS POINT. THERE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF IT. WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED YESTERDAY IS WHAT WE CALL ULTRAWIDE BAND 5G AND IT'S BASED ON THE ASSETS THAT VERIZON HAS A MASS. SO AS YOU KNOW, WE BOUGHT 36 MILLION MILES OF FIBER. WE'RE PUTTING FIBER OUT THERE SO WE CAN HAVE BIG PIPES FEEDING THE CELLS. AND THEN WE BOUGHT A LOT OF SPECTRUM, FROM XO AND STRAIGHT PATH. SO WE WILL LITERALLY HAVE HUNDREDS OF MEGA HERTZ OF BANDWIDTH TO DELIVER FULL SUITE OF SERVICES OF 5G. YOU DON'T GET LATENCY AND THROUGHPUT AND THE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF TIMES IMPROVEMENT IN CAPACITY. 5G WILL DELIVER A MEGA BIT OF SERVICE FOR ABOUT 1/10THOF WHAT 4G DOES TODAY, SO THAT ALLOWS US TO PUSH OUT TO MARKETS AND APPLICATIONS AT A GOOD COST THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE.
FABER: WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PUSH OUT AGAIN BECAUSE I AM CURIOUS. SO SACRAMENTO AND L.A. THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THIS YEAR. WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN?
McADAM: YEAH, WELL, WE'LL LITERALLY HAVE OVER 1,000 CELL SITES UP AND OPERATING ON THE GLOBAL STANDARD. WE'VE GOT CPE FOR A FIXED WIRELESS APPLICATION SO THE INTELLIGENT HOME AND YOU EXPERIENCED WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HOME APPLIANCES AND BROADBAND, ALEXA, YOU KNOW, SIRI, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN WE'LL VERY QUICKLY IN FIRST QUARTER, AS THE MOBILE DEVICES COME AVAILABLE, MOVE INTO A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT. THE BEAUTY OF HOW WE'RE ARCHITECTING OUR NETWORK IS IT'S A MULTIPURPOSE NETWORK. SO WHETHER WE OFFER FIXED WIRELESS OR MOBILE OR ENTERPRISE SERVICE, IT DOESN'T MATTER. THAT ALLOWS US TO DRIVE OUR COST DOWN AND SERVE MORE CUSTOMERS.
FABER: ALRIGHT, AND YOU MENTIONED THE DEVICES THEMSELVES. THAT'S THE THING. I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT IN ANYBODY'S HAND RIGHT NOW. WHEN IS THAT ACTUALLY -- AND IN 4G IT TOOK SOME TIME, AS WELL.
McADAM: YEAH.
FABER: AND PEOPLE ARE HOLDING ON TO THEIR PHONE'S LONGER, BY THE WAY. I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS PROMULGATES AN UPGRADE CYCLE.
McADAM: WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT HOW SMART PHONES STARTED OUT -- I REMEMBER HAVING THE DISCUSSION WITH STEVE JOBS WHEN HE – WHEN WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO TEN MEGABITS TO A HANDSET HIS EYES LIT UP AND HE HAD ALL THESE IDEAS. NOW DELIVERING A GIGA BIT TO THE HANDSET, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ALL OF THAT WITH THE FIRST DEVICE. BUT THAT WILL BE ANOTHER LONG OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PENETRATE THE MARKET AND GET -- BRING CUSTOMERS NEW AND EXCITING SERVICES.
FABER: JOHN LEGERE, OF COURSE, HE OF "DUMB AND DUMBER" – HE WAS ON OUR AIR WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THE SPRINT T-MOBILE DEAL TALKING ABOUT HOW WE LAG IN 5G, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT AT&T AND VERIZON IN TERMS OF THEIR SPENDING AND SAYING IT'S A COMBINATION OF – SPRINT AND T-MOBILE ARE GONNA SPEND FAR MORE AND WE'RE FAR BEHIND CHINA. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT CRITICISM?
McADAM: WELL, LOOK. I CAN'T SAY WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR PROCESS. BUT THIS IS A THREE YEAR JOURNEY FOR US. WE STARTED WITH GLOBAL STANDARDS. WE WORKED WITH THE OTHER CARRIERS AROUND THE WORLD AND THE EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS, LIKE ERICSSON AND NOKIA AND SAMSUNG. AND WE'VE WORKED WITH THE CITIES LIKE L.A. AND SACRAMENTO. AND WE HAD 11 MARKETS UP LAST YEAR IN TESTING WITH HUNDREDS OF CELL SITES PROVING THAT MILIMETER WAVE IS AN OUTSTANDING SET OF SPECTRUM FOR THIS. SO WE HAVE BEEN PLOWING MONEY INTO THIS WITHIN OUR CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS AND WE'RE GOING TO BE COMMERCIAL. SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT IS NOT HAPPENING IN THE MARKET, AND I THINK CHINA IS WORKING HARD TO STAY WITH UP US.
FABER: YEAH. NOW YESTERDAY, I GOT TO EXPERIENCE SORT OF WHAT WOULD BE MORE THE APPLICATIONS ON THE INTERNET OF THINGS, MACHINE LEARNING, CONNECTING CONNECTED DEVICES. BUT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE FOCUSSED ON WHAT THIS WILL MEAN FOR FIXED WIRELESS IN THE HOME. WHEN THE DAY COMES THAT – I DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE MY PHONE ON ME – BUT WHEN THE DAY COMES THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY BE DELIVERED – YOU CAN DELIVER A GIGABYTE THERE. CAN YOU GET THROUGH TREES? CAN YOU GET THROUGH LEAVES? CAN YOU GET SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU DON'T NEED CELL SITES 25 FEET FROM MY HOUSE?
McADAM: YEAH, WELL THOSE WERE SOME OF WHAT I CALL THE MYTHS OF MILLIMETER WAVE. BECAUSE NO ONE THOUGHT THAT WAS GOOD. AND BY THE WAY, WE'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE IT NOW SO IT'S TO THEIR ADVANTAGE TO SAY IT'S NO GOOD. BUT --
FABER: YEAH LEGERE SAID IT WAS NO GOOD. HE MADE A POINT OF THAT.
McADAM: YEAH, WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M AN ENGINEER. I'LL JUST SPEAK FOR WHAT I KNOW. WHEN WE WENT OUT IN THESE ELEVEN MARKETS, WE TESTED FOR WELL OVER A YEAR SO WE COULD SEE EVERY PART OF FOLLIAGE, EVERY STORM THAT WENT THROUGH, AND WE HAVE BUSTED THE MYTH THAT IT HAS TO BE LINE OF SIGHT. IT DOES NOT. WE BUSTED THE MYTH THAT FOLIAGE WILL SHUT IT DOWN. I MEAN THAT WAS BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN A PINE NEEDLE WOULD STOP IT. THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. AND THESE THINGS -- IN THE 200 FEET FROM A HOME, WE'RE NOW DESIGNING THE NETWORK FOR OVER 2,000 FEET FROM TRANSMITTER TO RECEIVER, WHICH HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR CAPITAL NEED GOING FORWARD. SO THOSE MYTHS HAVE DISAPPEARED. WE'RE CHARGING AHEAD. THE MARKET WILL JUDGE.
FABER: I KNOW YOU FOR MANY YEARS AS AN ENGINEER, SOMEBODY WHO WAS BEHIND THE -- BUILDING THE NETWORK THAT HELPED DEFINE VERIZON AND DIFFERENTIATE IT FOR SOME TIME FROM YOUR COMPETITORS AND HAVE OF COURSE THE LARGEST SUBSCRIBERS AND PERHAPS GET THE HIGHEST PRICE. BUT DO YOU SEE 5G THE SAME WAY THAT YOU SAW – WHETHER IT WAS 3 OR 4G, IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO OFFER THAT? AND IF SO, HOW DO YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT?
McADAM: YOU KNOW, I DON'T SEE IT THAT WAY, DAVID. I'LL TELL YOU, I HAVE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS SINCE THE FIRST PHONE CALL BACK IN '84. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL BE MORE DISRUPTIVE AND HAVE MORE BENEFIT FOR CONSUMERS THAN 5G. IT'S JUST SO COMPLETELY OBVIOUS TO ME. AND IT WON'T BE THE TRADITIONAL WAY WHERE YOUR HANDSET – THE SPEED TO YOUR HANDSET WILL GET YOU ALL EXCITED. IT'S THE ABILITY TO DO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES. YOU CAN'T DO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WITHOUT 5G. YOU SAW A COUPLE OF HEALTH CARE APPLICATIONS. THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS AND HAVE BETTER OUTCOMES BECAUSE OF 5G AND THE LATENCY OF IT. YOU SAW GAMING CONSOLE YESTERDAY OR A GAMING SERVICE YESTERDAY. BECAUSE OF LATENCY OF THE NETWORK AND FOR YOUR VIEWERS, THAT MEANS HOW RESPONSIVE THE NETWORK IS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE BIG GAMING CONSOLES, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE TETHERED DEVICES FOR –
FABER: -- YEAH, WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME PICTURES OF IT THERE.
McADAM: YEAH, FOR VIRTUAL REALITY. ALL THAT STUFF CHANGES.
FABER: I MEAN, WHAT I TOOK AWAY FROM IT IMMEDIATELY WAS, "OKAY, I DON'T NEED THE X BOX IN MY HOME." I MEAN THERE WERE GOING TO BE INVESTMENT IMPLICATIONS THAT OUR VIEWERS ARE ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO START TO UNDERSTAND. BUT TO YOUR POINT, YOU THINK THAT MANY OF THE APPLICATIONS HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN THOUGHT OF AS OF YET.
McADAM: NO, I MEAN, WE'VE HAD SOME OF THESE LIKE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN OUR MIND FOR A LONG TIME. BUT THE ABILITY TO DO IT AND DO IT WELL – YOU KNOW, WITH THE CAMERA TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATING WITH CARS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE AROUND THE CORNER SO YOU CAN TELL SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO STEP OFF A CURVE AS YOU'RE PLANNING TO DO A RIGHT CURVE, OR IT'LL MAP WHAT'S GOING ON 100 MILES AHEAD OF YOU SO YOU CAN PLAN. AND THIS HAS BIG IMPACT ON SUSTAINABILITY, ON CARBON FOOTPRINTS, ON THE COST OF THE CAR EVEN. SO NO MATTER WHERE YOU LOOK IT WILL HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON PEOPLE.
FABER: NOT TO MENTION THE DATA THAT'S GONNA BE GENERATED AND NEED TO BE STORED AND MANIPULATED BY AI. I WOULD THINK THAT CLOUD COMPUTING WILL BECOME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
McADAM: WELL, AND BECAUSE THE NETWORK IS SO RESPONSIVE, THE CLOUD CAN BE OUT CLOSER TO THE EDGE OF THE NETWORK, WHICH MAKES IT MORE RESPONSIVE. SO TODAY'S NETWORK TAKES ABOUT 200 MILLISECONDS TO GO OUT, GATHER SOME INFORMATION AND COME BACK. THAT SHOULD BE UNDER A MILLISECOND. SO, FOR THE VIEWERS, THAT IS LESS THAN YOU CAN BLINK YOUR EYE. AND SO THINK, AT 60 MILES PER HOUR AND THE AMOUNT OF DISTANCE YOUR CAR TRAVELS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THE COMPUTERS CAN BE MANAGING THAT CAR FOR YOU. IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE SAFE.
FABER: YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE SAY, "IT'S JUST A LOT OF HYPE." I CAN REMEMBER FIOS AND SOME OF THE PROMISES THERE. NOT THAT IS NOT A STRONG SERVICE BUT IT REALLY IS NOT THAT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT POTENTIALLY I'M GETTING FROM MY CABLE COMPANY. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THOSE WHO SAY, "I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT, AND I REALLY THINK THIS IS BEING OVERPLAYED AT THIS POINT"? NOT TO MENTION IT'S GONNA TO BE MANY, MANY YEARS.
McADAM: WELL, I THINK, LOOK – YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO CONVINCE SOME PEOPLE ABOUT IT. THE EARLY MOVERS WHEN I SIT DOWN WITH CEOS THAT ARE IN THE ELECTRONICS BUSINESS AND THEY REALIZE WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH A GIGABIT OF THROUGHPUT INSTEAD OF 10 MEGABITS, WHEN THEY CAN SEE A MILLISECOND LATENCY, THEIR EYES LIGHT UP WITH THE IDEA. SO THE CONSUMER JUST NEEDS TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE. AND VERIZON DOESN'T NEED TO LAY OUT THIS WHOLE PATH BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE, THE ENTREPRENEURS THAT YOU SAW YESTERDAY, THEY HAVE THOSE IDEAS. AND I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A GAME CHANGER. YOU KNOW, I'VE USED THE TERM, DAVID, THIS WILL USHER IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION FOR THIS COUNTRY AND I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT.
FABER: AND WHAT IS IT GOING TO MEAN THEN FOR VERIZON? BECAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TALKED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW ABOUT THE PROMISE OF 5G BUT WE'VE ALSO HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHETHER VERIZON ALSO NEEDS TO HAVE A LARGER FOOTPRINT IN MEDIA OR IN CONTENT. AND YOU'VE GONE DOWN THIS ROAD A FEW TIMES, LOOKING AT VARIOUS COMPANIES. IS THAT NO LONGER THE CASE? DO YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY AS MUCH ABOUT THAT BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU WILL BE DOMINANT IN 5G?
McADAM: WELL WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT OVER THE YEARS AND WE MADE OUR DECISION TO GO DIGITAL. THAT'S WHY WE BOUGHT AOL AND YAHOO AND WE TALK NOW ABOUT SUPERCHANNELS OF SPORTS AND FINANCE AND NEWS AND SOME ENTERTAINMENT. WE'VE HAD THE CHANCE TO GO DOWN THE LINEAR MODEL EITHER BY PURCHASING SATELLITE COMPANIES OR PURCHASING CONTENT COMPANIES. AND THAT'S NOT OUR STRATEGY. OUR STRATEGY IS TO GET DIGITAL CONTENT OUT THERE OVER THE FASTEST PIPE WE CAN AT THE LOWEST COST. AND THAT'S WHY 5G MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.
FABER: ALRIGHT, SO A COMPETITOR LIKE AT&T WHICH OF COURSE RIGHT NOW IS ON THE CUSP POTENTIALLY OF BEING ABLE TO BUY TIME WARNER. OR YOU DALLIANCE WITH CHARTER IN THE PAST. DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTION. OR CBS. ARE YOU TELLING ME WHEN I HEAR THOSE RUMORS IN THE FUTURE I SHOULD DISREGARD THEM?
McADAM: LOOK, YOU'VE SEEN US ACT. RIGHT? WE BOUGHT 36 MILLION MILES OF FIBER. YOU'VE SEEN US BE INCREDIBLY ACTIVE ON THE 5G FRONT, I'D ARGUE THAT WE'VE LED THE GLOBE IN THAT AREA. SO OUR ACTIONS OUTSPEAK ANYBODY'S SPECULATION ON WHAT VERIZON'S GOING TO DO.
FABER: AND WHAT ABOUT PRICING AND HOW SHOULD WE VIEW THE COMING MODEL FOR 5G? ARE PEOPLE -- THE NETWORK IS SIMPLY GOING TO HAVE A LOT MORE CAPACITY AND THEREFORE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT MORE REVENUE OR YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE PRICE?
McADAM: WELL, THE DIFFERENCE THAT PEOPLE HAVE YET TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT 5G IS IT'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT NETWORKS. SO, AS WE TALKED YESTERDAY, IF YOU WANT TO IMBED CENSORS IN ASPHALT FOR ROAD – FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, YOU CAN DESIGN THE NETWORK TO GIVE TEN YEAR BATTERY LIFE FOR THOSE CENSORS. IF YOU NEED THE SUB-MILLISECOND LATENCY FOR AN AUTOMOBILE, THAT'S -- YOU DESIGN THE NETWORK DIFFERENTLY. SO WE CALL THAT SLICING THE NETWORK. SO ALL OF THOSE USE CASES WILL HAVE THEIR OWN PRICING. SO THINKING ABOUT IT'S $90 OR $100 PER SUBSCRIBER, ALL OF THAT MODEL GOES OUT THE WINDOW AS YOU GO INTO 5G. IT'S GONNA BE A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH.
FABER: SO NOBODY'S REALLY YET – I MEAN, THE ANALYST COMMUNITY I WOULD THINK IS JUST STARTING TO EVEN GRAPPLE WITH WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR 2022 EARNINGS ESTIMATES.
McADAM: YEAH. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. YOU HAVE TO THROW OUT THE FINANCIAL MODELS. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND YOU'VE SEEN SOME UPGRADES ON US RECENTLY BECAUSE AS THE ANALYSTS REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT 5G CAN DO AND THE MODELS FOR IT, IT'S NOT THE CASE WHERE WE FLIP THE SWITCH AND EVERYBODY GETS EVERY ASPECT OF IT BECAUSE IT'S FRANKLY IN 4G A LOT OF PEOPLE MONETIZED ON OUR CAPITAL DOLLAR. AS WE GO FORWARD, I MEAN WE'RE GONNA BE CUSTOMIZING THE NETWORK FOR THE APPLICATION. WE WILL BE MUCH MORE INVOLVED IN THAT MODEL.
FABER: YOU HAVE TO SPEND A LOT MORE MONEY TO DO ALL THIS?
McADAM: NO, I DON'T THINK SO. I MEAN, THE MULTIPURPOSE NETWORK REPLACES WHAT WE HAD – WE HAD A WIRELESS NETWORK AND A ENTERPRISE NETWORK AND A FIOS NETWORK. AND NOW THE FIBER IS GONNA CARRY ALL THOSE SERVICES SO WE CAN BE A LOT MORE EFFICIENT IN OUR CAPITAL DOLLARS. SO WE'RE FEELING PRETTY GOOD ABOUT STAYING WITHIN OUR GUIDANCE.
FABER: AND FINALLY JUST TO COME BACK TO THIS CONTENT THING TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND. I MEAN, I SAW YOU GUYS IN THE PROXY, ALSO. I MEAN, IT DIDN'T SAY YOUR NAME, FOR FOX. AT LEAST YOU SEEM TO STILL HAVE INTEREST. YOU SEEM TO BE TELLING ME YOU'RE NOT HAVE INTEREST.
McADAM: AS YOU SAY, IT WAS – YOU ASSUME THAT THAT WAS US IN THERE. LOOK, I CAN JUST SAY THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT THESE ASSETS OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME. WE'VE MADE THE DECISION THAT DIGITAL IS THE WAY FOR US TO GO. WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN A LINEAR CONTENT COMPANY.
FABER: ALRIGHT. LOWELL, ALWAYS APPRECIATE THE UPDATES. THIS WAS A SIGNIFICANT ONE TODAY.
McADAM: YOU'RE ALWAYS GOOD. I APPRECIATE IT.
FABER: I APPRECIATE IT AS WELL.
McADAM: YOU'RE VERY COMPETITIVE AT THESE GAMES, TOO, BY THE WAY. I HAVE TO SAY.
FABER: WE HAD SOME FUN. NICE TO SEE YOU.
McADAM: THANK YOU.
FABER: ALRIGHT, LOWELL McADAM, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF VERIZON. BACK TO YOU GUYS.
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Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam on the future of 5G from CNBC.
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