Verizon will run LTE trials in Seattle and Boston later this year

We don't know if this is indicative of the company's rumored plans to roll out LTE in Q1 2010 , but Verizon has announced that it'll start running trials of its 4G network later this year, and the lucky cities to first get a stab at it are Seattle and Boston. In an earnings call today, CFO John Killian reiterated that the plan is to have a commercial launch in "up to 30 markets next year" (note he didn't say when in 2010), with an expected 100 million points of presence for LTE by 2013. VZW COO Denny Strigl skirted by a few questions about any future Apple devices, but no surprise there, that's been its modus operandi for some time now.

[Via Phone Scoop]

[bakedbeans6 Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:20PM]

Hey, I live in Seattle!

Oh wait, I'm with T-Mobile.

Bummer.

[Jimbojones Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:57PM]

Can we get 4G in San Francisco before 2018 ?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:21PM]

BOSTON SUCKS!!!


Sincerely,
Jealous New Yorker

[NeoJew Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:24PM]

Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.

[saturnblackhole Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:32PM]

yeah they should have started it in new york city since verizon is hq here. BOSTON BLOW BALLS. YANKEES FOREVER!!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:16AM]

agreed. seriously dude wtf would they pick measily ass cities like seattle or boston when they could get over 8 million customers in NYC.

for the record seattle and boston are only in the 600 thousand range for population.

[good grief Posted Jul 28th 2009 2:55PM]

There are more than 5 million people in Greater Boston

[AbSoluTc Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:23PM]

Verizon could come out with 100G speed and it would make no difference. The phones STILL SUCK, along with the customer service but hey - thanks for trying. :)

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:23PM]

Yay, for once Boston gets something cool. Now the question is: What devices will be released to use the LTE network?

[PEZ Posted Jul 27th 2009 11:02PM]

Whatever it is, I want to be there when it lights up beantown.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:23PM]

LTE is not 4G, and I really wish people would stop making that connection. LTE Advanced is 4G.

[Michael Scrip Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:45PM]

So what is LTE?

[nelagster Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:47PM]

ok but do you really want them to call it 3.9G?

[Ryan Trevisol Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:50PM]

It's up to 100Mbit/s in your cell phone.

They can call it "YourMomIsAWhore" for all I care.

[spasewalkr Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:19AM]

dude, really?! at what point will you just wipe the smug grin off your face and round 3.9 to 4?! i mean really!

[EpsilonNot Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:24PM]

As a lifelong resident of the Bay State, I am quite pleased to hear this... except, I'm moving to Virginia later this year...

[Sibuna Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:40PM]

Move faster, they're obviously waiting for you to leave.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:43PM]

@Matt
Lmao! Good one!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:29PM]

Verizon, don't do any viral promotion in Boston or they'll call in the bomb squad.

[EpsilonNot Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:38PM]

"There was red everywhere! We thought it was on fire!"

[engadgethead Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:22PM]

Batteries + wires = BOMB. Or your 4G cell phone, anyone could make that mistake though.

[Maeztro Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:00PM]

Verizon is like an enigma wrapped in a puzzle...They have the best network by a landslide and the crappiest devices. This is going back a bit but I remember when camera phones just hit the scene and were hotter than hell...It took VZW forever to finally land the crappy little LG (which i owned) that finally could take pix...That pretty much set the bar for VZW's approach to latest and greatest...

[ljvb Posted Jul 28th 2009 9:07AM]

My understanding of LTE, is that it is backwards compatible with all of the current cell technologies. So in essence, you could technically use any phone you wanted on it.. that of course all depends on how Verizon deploys it...

[Murkurie Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:04PM]

I wonder if Seattle has anything to do with Microsoft

[Tired Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:07PM]

Hmm. I'm not in Seattle, but I can receive signals from there...I wonder if it'll reach here.

[Anthop Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:17PM]

My guess is probably not. It probably has more to do with the size of the cities. Boston and Seattle are both fairly small for a major city in the US - but not too small. They have very different populations and geographies. I'd guess this and the smallish size lets them test a lot of different variables without spending too much money rolling it out to a larger coverage area.

[Anthop Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:25PM]

WTH, that was a reply to WinXP. Engadget: first rate tech blog, third rate comment system. D=

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:11PM]

Is that mean that some day we gonna use iphones on verizon ?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:44PM]

i hope this doesn't come across as a fanboy comment, but i recently purchased my iPhone, and.....wow. The YouTube speeds are impressive, and the browser's speed (perhaps the biggest improvement in the 3G S) is unreal. I honestly feel like I'm on my computer.

My question is, how much better will it get than this? Like, what could LTE possibly bring that I don't have right now on AT&T 3G?

I really hope I don't come across as a fanboy and get voted down, but I'm genuinely curious.

Thanks!

[dan1123 Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:56PM]

LTE is a whole new way to think about cell phone service. There is no voice separated from text separated from data. Everything is data running on the the same network. Furthermore, LTE uses lower frequencies with huge bandwidth--meaning you can much more easily get fast signals through walls indoors. I would not be surprised if verizon offered free unlimited data/texts with every LTE plan, and advertised incredible speeds even in underground bunkers.

[Michael Scrip Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:13PM]

>> "I would not be surprised if verizon offered free unlimited data/texts with every LTE plan"

Riiiiiight....

[Peter F Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:34PM]

To the CARRIER it is all the same, of course they will continue to bill it separately. It makes no sense as it is all data and voice and text use FAR less data then web browsing, but it makes money and people are used to paying separately .

[DizWhiz Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:03PM]

Man I hate that LTE logo with the horrible bevel/emboss swooshes... not that anyone else cares of course.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:14PM]

I care, I care. And I feel your pain.

[EpsilonNot Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:29PM]

It almost makes the Verizon logo look decent.

Almost.

[Professional Amature Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:34PM]

http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2007/11/verizon-decides-on-lte-for-4g-wireless-broadband.ars

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:48PM]

@ T.H :

So thats really means we gonna be able to use iphones on verizon right ?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:01PM]

im in boston - how do i get involved in this ?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:13AM]

Also in Boston and interested in getting involved! Will this just be for certain Verizon employed "testers" or will anyone in the Boston area be able to involve themselves?

[matt merritt Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:35PM]

I wish anyone (including Comcast) gave a shit about Philadelphia. Verizon should've launched here and said "Suck It Comcast". I know that VZW has nothing to do at all with Comcast - I'm just bitter over not being able to get Fios.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 2:48AM]

Lame. Portland has had 4G for a month already now with Comcast's HighSpeed2Go. Comcast got on the ball faster and the numbers in sales have more than generated enough wealth for the company. Verizon is behind.

[EpsilonNot Posted Jul 28th 2009 6:29AM]

There is a difference between WiMax and LTE, in terms of 4g- WiMax is likely to be destined to be the CDMA of 4G, in terms of getting devices. Have fun with that in a few years.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 28th 2009 4:35AM]

I still can't understand why Verizon goes on with this logo from the 80's... it's UGLYYYY