Verizon Wireless has announced more details about their upcoming LTE launch, saying that they plan to launch between 25 and 30 markets this year but will double that to 50-60 markets by the end of 2013. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the high speed data 4G standard adopted by Verizon, At&t, and T-Mobile and has the potential to provide data download speeds of 5-12 Mbps and 2-5Mbps for uploads - Verizon will be the first US carrier to offer LTE and the second to offer 4G at all (Sprint/CLEAR have a major head start with their 4G WiMAX network, which has been available since last year and is growing fast).
"We continue to conduct validation testing in conjunction with initial commercial deployments," the company said in the recent 10-k filing. "We expect that technology testing and assessments will continue as the LTE technology and standards are advanced," says Tony Melone, CTO Verizon Wireless. Melone also mentioned that Verizon has not yet determined whether Verizon will being using LTE for their voice network in the near future or if they'll continue to use their 3G network for voice until their 4G footprint has expanded.
Verizon's first LTE network will launch by the end of 2010, so stay tuned at 4Ginfo for further developments!
