Shreveport Residents Struggle with Cell Service: What’s Going On?

Do you live in or around the Shreveport, LA area? Have you been experiencing issues with your cell phone service? Don't worry, you're not crazy and you're not alone! A lot of people have been having problems. It was so bad a little over a week ago that I couldn't even log into my work email because I couldn't receive text messages for 2FA (Two-factor authentication). Talk about frustrating!

In fact, I was so frustrated, I took my issue to Facebook and it turns out, I wasn't the only one who noticed something was off.

Bingo! Verizon is upgrading their towers to 5G technology in our area and it caused a few hiccups. Verizon reports that these upgrades are, 'part of a multi-year redesign of its network architecture to stay ahead of exponential data usage increases, prepare for a massive 5G Ultra Wideband expansion, upgrade the technology in the network, and pave the way for personalized customer experiences.'

While I'm not on Verizon, I'm on a carrier that uses Verizon towers, and Verizon says that their Shreveport users are getting the best service in the area with the upgraded technology and that even more upgrades are planned. While it sounds like 'Greek' to me, Verizon's plan is to begin deploying 5G Ultra Wideband service using Verizon’s recently acquired C-band spectrum, designed to provide wide coverage for 5G service later this year.

So, have faith! Our technical woes will be over soon and we have even better service on the way!