Verizon just spent $53 billion on radio airwaves: How they'll boost its 5G network The iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 lines, as well as the Pixel 5, already include support for Verizon's newest wireless spectrum. Listen - 04:12 Angela Lang/CNET Verizon went big in the recent FCC spectrum auction for midband wireless spectrum and now it's starting to reveal when and how it will put that purchase to use. During an analyst event Wednesday night, CEO Hans Vestberg touted that the purchase was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Known as C-band, the midband spectrum has been viewed by the wireless industry as a key technology for offering faster 5G performance than wider-ranging low-band networks while covering larger areas compared to faster millimeter-wave 5G. Verizon says that this new spectrum will allow it to offer peak download speeds of 1 gigabit per second.