Verizon Wireless to light up LTE in 20 to 30 markets in 2H 2010
By Darren Murph 
posted May 15th 2009 10:13AM
posted May 15th 2009 10:13AM
Looking for some LTE news that's harder than those wishy-washy vibes you've been getting thus far? Listen up. On a recent conference call, Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam (shown) stated that its LTE network would launch commercially in around 20 to 30 US markets during "the second half of 2010." He continued by noting that a "nationwide buildout would be complete in late 2013 to early 2014," but failed to elaborate on the whens, whos and whys in between. For those locked into the 4G movement, you'll notice that these dates are slightly different than ones tossed out in April by the outfit's CFO, which leads us to believe that we could hear something else in just a few month's time if things don't go perfectly to plan. At any rate, McAdam did confirm that a tiny group of VZW testers would have access to 4G this year, with one "pre-commercial" network per US coast being activated during 2009. Bring on the bytes, baby.[Via phoneArena]
Hopefully it's the larger cities....NYC hehhee
Well that's a dumb response, it's always the largest cities first. When has it not been?
Dumb response? I guess you didn't get the hehee at the end.
Would a /sarcasm/ reference be better for you to comprehend my speech?
It may be larger cities first, but rarely the largest on this type of technological rollout. It's the reason why Sprint won't have WiMAX in NYC until 2010. If you spend a bunch of money in a city that large and dense, only to find that you have to replace all that equipment because something went wrong, that's a LOT of dough.
Test markets are never too big, and never too small.
They should concentrate on releasing better phones.
absolutely. While a faster network is great. Using the Dare or Voyager on it really isn't something to brag about.
@TheSuburbanWhiteBoy
you wouldn't be able to use the Dare or Voyager on the LTE network anyways. They will release phones with LTE and CDMA built-in chips
This hopefully will coincide with a iPhone 4G on Verizon Wireless.
And it'll have a battery life of 30 minutes.
For all its crappy phones and oddball restrictions, when it comes to service and and technology in the cellular field Verizon easily handles their reputation. In the past 18 months I've yet to find a spot in America where EVDO was not present.
Try living within 20 miles of a nuclear power station. Every carrier works except for Verizon and T-Mobile (which isn't really a surprise). When we called, the Verizon tech said it was a problem with the plant's EM transmissions interfering with the CDMA frequencies.
I'm not sure I believe that, but that's what they said.
Does Sprint have signal there? They use CDMA as well.
It's about the same. Their voice signal is a little better, but not nearly what it should be for being less than 50 miles from a major city. Don't even think about EVDO with either of them though.
@thedudeabides
Try the mountain area separating North Caroline and Tennessee, I can't even get cellular service on long stretches there...
whats up with these companies? every 2-5 years they spend another billion dollars on another network over haul? first 2.5G then 3g now 4g or LTR.
and you wonder why are phone service bills are at 100 bucks a month?
Now don't get me wrong the faster the better ,but they need to find a better way to manage there expansions.
Its like instead of repainting my house I rip it down and build a new one every few years?
build a network that CAN be upgraded in place. IE the internet?
yikes... thats my 2 cents.
The problem is, is that is the way most technology works. Usually a standard can be push only so far and so fast until it can't be developed further. Then a new technology and standard is created in its place.
In most cell companies defense as well, LTE is to be the standard for a long time to come, so this is a big changeover in the industry. It's name even stand for "Long Term Evolution", so getting the initial hardware in is a big step. It also marks the move to an all IP based system.
I'll believe it when I see it.
I'm sure Verizon is pushing LTE out the door as fast as possible, but considering the time it takes to A) License the frequency (not yet complete), B) Have a 3rd party company build a solid LTE chipset for phones and get it approved through both the FCC AND Verizon's testing, and C) Install enough hardware to saturate a city with coverage before the launch, I don't believe this will be launching in any cities in one year.
Regardless, I can't wait for this service. I want FiOS at home and LTE on the go. Too bad Kansas City won't be seeing either of those serices for another five years.
2nd qtr 2010.....hmm that would be a June-ish time frame for when Apple usually releases new phones. I'm guessing LTE iPhone on Verizon is coming.
Wow so finally the crippling vcast network that carries the storm.
Recent study shows att has twice as many smartphones than vzw,.insane huh!???????
Att has twice as many activated working smartphones than vzw,.sick or what?
I would venture to say they are 75% iphones.
Whether you like them or not.. they sell. Doesn't matter how crappy the service is behind them.. people buy for looks and name... just look at the lady's bag company - Coach.
Can you really tell me that 1 bag is worth what 50 general bags are worth of any othe brand? NO.. but they sell.
The iphone has much more footing than that though.. I personally am not an iphone fan.. but the app store along with touchscreen has helped to wake up the consumers thus driving technology in the right direction. For that I greatly thank them!
I still download all my blackberry apps from torrents. (Sorry I can't see buying a program that I have to buy again if I break or upgrade my phone. If you buy a program they should send you a license and be able to use it on any phone you upgrade to in the future!). Until they do that, I will not pay for it!
Could you immagine buying a PS3 or Xbox360 - then NEVER be able to use the games on any other machine - even if yours was stolen, broken or just plain old? That would be a total rip!
Also, cell phones are technology - Windows, MacOS, Intel processors (pentium 4/core duo.core2duo etc), Video Cards (AGP, PCIExpress) all change over the years.