Verizon clarifies LTE buildout plans

Verizon Wireless provided a slightly more specific timetable for its planned LTE network buildout; the carrier said it will commercially launch 20 to 30 markets in the second half of 2010. Previously, the carrier only said it would launch the markets sometime in 2010.

On a conference call mainly about LTE device specifications for developers, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that the carrier would have "nationwide buildout complete in late 2013 to early 2014," according to PC Magazine, which closely matches what other Verizon officials have said about the launch schedule. Verizon will turn on one "pre-commercial" LTE market on the East Coast and one on the West Coast during 2009, McAdam said. 

Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone said at Ericsson's Capital Markets Day earlier this month that the carrier would launch commercial LTE service in 2010. He, in turn, was reiterating a point made by Roger Gurnani, senior vice president of product development at the carrier, who said that there would be "30 or so" markets running in 2010, and that Verizon would fill out its footprint over the next two to three years.   

In an interview in February with FierceWireless, Verizon Communications CTO Dick Lynch said, "I can demonstrate a commercial system this year. I can show you a footprint of respectable magnitude in 2010." Added Lynch: "I am confident that while it's aggressive and I won't say that there won't be a few bumps in the road along the way, I am comfortable that LTE has essentially been primed for a good launch in 2010."

For more:
- see this article [1]
- see this article [2]

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