River Park is one of the area's in Fresno to see improved connectivity from Verizon, according to the cellular giant.

Verizon Wireless’ multi-year effort to redesign its network architecture took a step forward recently with new upgrades bringing customers improved range and connectivity in Fresno.

Verizon customers may also notice improvements when they are at River Park or Fresno State, according to a Verizon news release.

Verizon announced that 86% of people in Fresno are now covered with 5G Ultra Wideband service, which was expanded recently with the addition of new macro cell sites and small cell sites. The new macro cell sites are providing additional coverage and capacity near Clovis North High School and Clovis Community College, along with sites to add coverage and capacity to the northern, southeast and downtown areas of Fresno.

In addition to adding more 5G service using C-band spectrum — once primarily used by satellite television operators, Verizon is also deploying 5G service using Millimeter Wave (mmWave), its high-band spectrum that allows for “extremely fast” speeds and “massive capacity,” according to the release. Verizon has recently added mmWave most notably at California State University, Fresno and the River Park shopping district.

Fresno’s 5G coverage uses a combination of mmWave spectrum and Verizon’s recently acquired C-band spectrum. Until this year in Fresno, Verizon has been restricted to using 60 MHz of the spectrum it has secured, but by the end of 2023, customers in Fresno will have available 100 MHz of C-band, almost doubling the spectrum available for 5G Ultra Wideband.

“Today’s world calls for faster speeds, ultra secure connections and improved coverage in more places,” said Phillip French, vice president of engineering and operations at Verizon. “We’re dedicated to bringing the best and latest technologies to local communities, and to keeping our customers connected through 5G.”