Verizon elevates fixed-wireless offering with security solutions

Verizon Business is elevating its fixed-wireless business internet offering with all new native security features and a cloud-based router management dashboard, giving customers remote self-service capability to address performance, security, and visibility needs in one centralized location.

The solutions are available to businesses of all sizes as simple-to-add enhancements to Verizon fixed-wireless plans, with nothing to install and no special equipment or in-house IT support necessary.

Verizon Business Internet Portal

At no additional charge to Verizon Business Internet customers, the Verizon Business Internet Portal allows businesses to monitor and self-manage their entire portfolio of fixed-wireless connections, without relying on service calls or IT experts.

The Portal is accessible from virtually anywhere via verizon.com and using a customer’s existing My Business credentials. The cloud-based interface means large enterprises can centrally monitor and control vast device deployments, and small and medium businesses can easily scale up as they grow, without depending on IT support to manage connections.

Verizon Business Internet Portal capabilities include:

Performance monitoring and diagnostics for all routers, regardless of manufacturer: router online/offline status, signal strength, speed testing, and Wi-Fi health check with performance management, including historical data reporting, performance improvement recommendations, and equipment upgrade capabilities

Critical network-management features: remote Wi-Fi password management, device rebooting, and enhanced view and management of devices connected to your network, including IP addresses

Advanced settings: local administration lock, save/restore router configurations, IP passthrough, firewall settings

Bulk configuration management for customers with multiple Verizon Business Internet lines

The Portal’s remote accessibility is also a significant advantage for hybrid or highly distributed work environments. Firms can manage equipment spanning their own physical locations and the work-from-home/WFX deployments afforded to remote employees. Beyond being able to monitor and make network-critical changes through the Portal, organizations can also order replacement devices for routers needing to be upgraded.

Verizon Business Internet Security

Housed in the Business Internet Portal, Verizon Business Internet Security comes in two tiers of service as a paid enhancement to LTE or 5G Business Internet plans. The embedded, network-native security features can be activated immediately with nothing new to install, and management is clear and intuitive via the Verizon Business Internet Portal. The two tiers of VBIS service are:

Verizon Business Internet Security Plus ($10 per line per month), which includes ransomware protection, phishing prevention, anti-malware, malicious website blocking, security insights and reporting via the Verizon Business Internet Portal, and more.

Verizon Business Internet Security Preferred ($20 per line per month), which includes all Plus features plus enhanced, customizable protections such as content filtering, block/allow for specific URLs, block/allow for specific IP addresses, and advanced security configuration enablement via the Verizon Business Internet Portal.

Verizon Business Internet Security solutions offer protection for devices on the same router and can block fixed devices from visiting malicious websites or downloading malicious content, a common challenge for small and medium businesses especially. By placing a layer of security at the Internet gateway, threats can be intercepted before ever reaching the end device. The Verizon Business Internet Portal logs and reports blocked threats, so you can see your Verizon Business Internet Security solutions at work for you every day.

Debika Bhattacharya, Chief Product Officer, Verizon Business, on the Verizon Business Internet Portal and Verizon Business Internet Security, said, “With these enhancements, Verizon Business' fixed-wireless offering has never been more compelling or more distinguished in the marketplace. The Verizon Business Internet Portal and Verizon Business Internet Security make management and cybersecurity simple, easy to use and accessible for our business customers. There's no installation, no IT support, and no headaches, and users gain more control and better visibility into the security and performance of their connections and devices, all on one dashboard.”

Debika Bhattacharya, on Verizon Business Internet Security, commented, “Verizon Business Internet Security can benefit companies of any size. Large enterprises can secure vast deployments of equipment with an embedded layer of defense that can be activated immediately and seamlessly. But these solutions are especially beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses, which don’t always have the resources or internal expertise to manage their security. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report released earlier this month revealed that the cost of cyberattacks like business email compromise and ransomware are on the rise, with the latter doubling over the last two years. This is especially worrying for small and medium-sized businesses, considering they are more likely than large businesses to have their credentials stolen (54% to 37%), resulting in other malicious actions like ransomware. Verizon Business Internet Security helps head off these vulnerabilities at the pass by taking the guesswork out of cybersecurity set-up and offering protection the second our customers turn it on.”

Jason Leigh, Research Manager for Mobility & 5G Services at IDC, said, “Business fixed wireless access [FWA] connections are expected to grow at a 39% CAGR over the next five years, reaching 5.3 million business FWA lines in use by 2027, with much of that growth coming from multi-location businesses, such as banking, healthcare, construction, and retail. Yet for those businesses utilizing multiple FWA lines, deployment and oversight of FWA has previously been a case-by-case, site-by-site process. A singular, cloud-based management portal allows a business, no matter the size of its IT operations, to easily monitor and configure the entire scope of its FWA connectivity remotely — from router passwords to policy management — and is essential to realizing the flexibility, scalability, and ease of use promise that FWA offers.” says Jason Leigh, Research Manager for Mobility & 5G Services at IDC. “And incorporating a network-native security service streamlines the ability of businesses to secure their operations, and further accelerates the value that businesses can realize through the adoption of FWA.”