Verizon Communications Inc. VZ recently announced that it has collaborated with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) for the 22nd consecutive year to deliver seamless and reliable connectivity in its Track Santa initiative. This festive collaboration will enable children worldwide to track Santa Claus on his globe-trotting journey on Christmas Eve.

Digging Deep Into VZ-NORAD Collaboration

As the 5G ecosystem evolves, customers are expected to experience significant enhancements in coverage and speed. Verizon’s powerful network infrastructure will be crucial in supporting the program's toll-free hotline, which will allow callers to discover Santa’s real-time location as he travels from country to country. 

By leveraging its cutting-edge C-Band spectrum, the company will deliver high-performance 5G connectivity, ensuring that the hotline remains operational and provides uninterrupted service during the busiest hours of the holiday season. These mid-band airwaves offer significant bandwidth with better propagation characteristics for optimum coverage in rural and urban areas compared with mmWave. 

To further enhance NORAD’s operations, Verizon will provide state-of-the-art equipment, including Cradlepoint routers, Wi-Fi jetpacks and a Low-Earth Orbit solution. Verizon Frontline mobile assets will also be on-site, ensuring seamless communication and response times. The company’s Consulting Services team will maintain the Interactive Voice Response system, helping manage the high volume of more than 130,000 calls on Christmas Eve alone by delivering an efficient and reliable call management solution.

Does VZ Stock Stand to Gain From the Collaboration?

With one of the most efficient wireless networks in the United States, Verizon continues to deploy the latest 4G LTE Advanced technologies to deliver faster peak data speeds and capacity for customers. This is driven by customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering and constant strategic investment. 

The company is witnessing significant 5G adoption and fixed wireless broadband momentum and plans to accelerate the availability of its 5G Ultra-Wideband network across the country. It is building the entire network infrastructure and ecosystem to provide the most amazing 5G experience to customers. The 5G mobility service offers an unmatched experience that impacts industries as diverse as public safety, health care, retail and sports. 

The collaboration with NORAD centers on more customer engagement and is likely to add to the festive spirit. Such a customer-focused approach will likely propel the stock with incremental revenue generation. The deal is also expected to strengthen Verizon’s position as a leading communications service provider in the region.

VZ’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of Verizon have gained 6.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 27.4%.

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VZ’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Verizon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry have been discussed below.

Celestica Inc. CLS sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company provides competitive manufacturing technology and service solutions for printed circuit assembly and system assembly, as well as post-manufacturing support to many of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers. 

InterDigital, Inc. IDCC sports a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. It has a long-term growth expectation of 17.44%.

IDCC pioneered advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and capabilities. The company designs and develops various advanced technology solutions for digital cellular, wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and networks.

Ubiquiti Inc. UI sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. In the last reported quarter, Ubiquiti delivered an earnings surprise of 20.9%. Its highly flexible global business model remains apt to adapt to the changing market dynamics to overcome challenges while maximizing growth.

The company’s effective management of its strong global network of more than 100 distributors and master resellers improved its visibility for future demand and inventory management techniques.
 

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Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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