VERIZON

Verizon was created in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., one of the largest mergers in American business history. The company is one of three remaining with roots in the former Baby Bell companies, created from the break-up of the Bell System in 1984. The company launched the United States’ first 3G network in January 2002, giving customers the power of highspeed wireless broadband from mobile devices. In 2008 Verizon won a bid for US $ 9.4bn worth of wireless spectrum across the country, allowing it to move forward with its next-generation network plans with the launch of its 4G LTE network in December 2010. It began to roll out 5G in November 2017.

Verizon has had a focus on sustainability since its beginnings, planting more than 3 million trees between 2009 and 2020. In 2019, it pledged to plant 10 million trees by 2030 which it doubled the next year to 20 million.