Verizon has continuously stated that 4G LTE will be released in 25-30 markets by the end of 2010. We're now halfway through 2010 and Verizon is finally moving to the user trial stage in an effort to meet their goal. For the user trials, Verizon has stated they'll be launching 5 trial markets - Boston, Seattle and 3 other unnamed cities. It's not clear exactly who the test users will be when their network goes live for user testing, but this should be the final stage before they officially launch the service for mass adoption. It will be exciting to finally see the results of LTE in some real world situations. It makes us wonder how it will compare with the 4G WiMAX services Sprint and CLEAR currently offer.
Verizon's LTE network is using 700Mhz spectrum for their LTE purchased back in 2008 from the FCC auction. In contrast WiMAX operates on the 2.5Ghz frequency which theoretically means that Verizon's 4G LTE should have better building penetration than WiMAX networks. The initial demo in Boston was pretty impressive and really showcased the speed of Verizon's 4G LTE network:
Discuss on 4G forums here - Verizon Moving LTE 4G To User Trial Stage
