Mike's one of the best, so his points are worth considering even though I see things differently. Mike writes:
"The actual details of Verizon’s service are decidedly mundane.
1. Verizon is still going to have to do a truck roll.
2. Verizon isn’t providing 1 Gbps speeds.
3. Verizon is going to trash all this equipment next year anyway.
The truck roll issue:
In some of its early discussions about its fixed 5G plans, Verizon executives hinted that the company was working on technology that would allow customers to install their own 5G 28 GHz receivers" Mike is right that the "white glove" service Verizon is providing at the beginning will be expensive. But I don't see any reason they won't find a more efficient method as volume builds next year, Hans Vestberg suggested that a day later at Goldman.
300 megabits versus a true gigabit
At the beginning of this year, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam clearly said that “we’re very comfortable with being able to deliver a Gigabit of service to everyone that we’re providing service to.”
I was also surprised that Verizon is talking 300 megabits rather than the gigabit they will be delivering to many. Vestberg at Goldman noted that in rural areas, most customers will be served with lower speeds. No one receiving a gigabit is likely to complain about Verizon over-delivering.
The pre-standard equipment
This is the big one, in my mind. In its announcement, Verizon specifically said that customers who sign up for its fixed 5G service now are going to have to scrap all their equipment at some point in the future when Verizon’s suppliers begin producing 3GPP 5G NR gear.
My take again differs, Samsung and Ericsson are committed to upgrading the radios with software. The backhaul, antennas, and most other elements will continue to work. Even if Verizon had to mail out a new gateway, that's a small cost in a $29 billion project.
