Verizon announced their 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network today at CTIA. Verizon will launch the LTE network in 38 major metropolitan areas with service to 110 million Americans by the end of the year.
During the news conference today, CEO Lowell McAdam did not announce a pricing plan but warned that over time there may be a "bucket" size of options. Pricing will be announced closer to the dates of LTE deployment.
He also said that he expects at least a half dozen smartphones and tablets to be available by mid 2011. There will, of course, be USB modems.
Initially, voice and data will not be available at the same time. Voice service will still be served by the CDMA voice network.
4G LTE will be also be available in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast - both airports within the launch areas plus airports in other key cities.
LTE coverage will include large sections of the Northeast Corridor, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. as well as Rochester, New York.
In the South and Gulf Coast, Miami south Florida, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and New Orleans as well as Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee will have coverage.
In the Midwest, Chicago, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Pittsburgh and major cities in Ohio will have access to LTE.
Major population centers in California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, San Jose & San Francisco) as well as Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas will also have access to the network.
Verizon Wireless' rollout claims that the LTE Deployment positions the company to be the global leader in 4G LTE deployment. Verizon Wireless expects 4G LTE average data rates to be 5 to 12 Mbps on the downlink and 2 to 5Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments. The speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers' current or promised 3G network speeds.