AT&T paid a king's ransom to a hacker with everyone's call logs, records indicate Key Takeaways Verizon is acquiring Frontier Communications for $20 billion to expand its fiber network and integrate it with its mobile services. By owning a larger fiber network, Verizon aims to increase customer loyalty and provide access to faster internet speeds. Both Verizon and T-Mobile are investing in expanding their fiber coverage, indicating the growing importance of fiber optic internet in the future.

While Verizon provides mobile coverage for nearly everyone in the country, the same can't be said of its Fios fiber optic network that's still limited to just nine states. Verizon also offers wider home internet coverage with its 5G Home service, but Fios can be faster and more consistent than a wireless connection. Instead of painstakingly expanding its fiber network across the country, Verizon has opted to buy one that someone else built earlier.

Related T-Mobile wants to buy another fiber ISP -- this time, it's the largest privately owned firm in the US

The wireless carrier could be expanding soon

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In a press release, Verizon announced that it intends to acquire Frontier Communications, one of the largest consumer fiber networks, in a deal valued at $20 billion. While Verizon's Fios service is fairly well-known as one of the fastest fiber options available, it only serves 7.4 million connections in nine states, while Frontier services 2.2 million across 25 states. It's no surprise Verizon wants to increase its fiber footprint, with its competitor T-Mobile also looking to buy a fiber provider, Metronet.

Internet by Verizon

There's more to this deal than Verizon simply offering internet to more people. The company wants to bring the network together with its mobile offering. In its press release, Verizon noted that it saw increased loyalty in customers who used both its mobile and home services. This goes hand-in-hand with Verizon's postpaid mobile plans asking customers to bundle streaming services with their plans, making it that much harder to leave.

Verizon notes that Frontier's fiber network meets existing Fios standards, so it can quickly integrate customers into Verizon's Fios network. For business customers, this means access to products like Verizon Business Complete, which offers mobile service as well as phone management. Verizon also notes that it already has stores in Frontier's territory, helping to reach new customers.

This deal is expected to take 18 months to complete pending regulatory approval and approval from Frontier's shareholders. In that time, Frontier will continue its plan to expand to 2.8 million new locations in addition to its 7.2 million connections. Both companies expect to increase their customers before the deal closes as well.

Source: Verizon Fiber is the future

With Verizon and T-Mobile both buying providers to expand their fiber coverage in addition to their own efforts, it is no surprise to see that AT&T is also still steadily expanding its own fiber service. AT&T, for its part, noted that it's still the nation's largest fiber provider with 27.8 million locations, according to a press release from Nokia.

Currently, Verizon Fios offers internet speeds of 2Gbps, while Frontier offers 7Gbps in some areas. T-Mobile also tops out at 2Gbps while AT&T offers up to 5Gbps. For most people, this speed is overkill, but if you want to make the most of it, you'll need a Wi-Fi 7 router. Luckily, many of the best Android phones are ready for Wi-Fi 7.