Verizon Launching LTE In 38 Cities

Verizon's 4G plans were set to get unveiled today, and sure enough, Big Red's newly appointed President and COO, Lowell McAdam, has taken the stage at CTIA and dropped a pretty big bomb on those listening. Unlike the 30 cities we had heard in the month previous, it looks like Verizon has expanded to almost ten more cities. What's more, their push for LTE will hit hard in the smartphone market during the first half of 2011, as McAdam has announced that there will be plenty of handsets to choose from when the time comes.

During McAdam's time on the stage, he announced that Verizon won't launch in 30 cities, but actually 38. And, what's better, is that those 38 cities will actually get the LTE green light as soon as Verizon hits the switch (which is still missing a date, unfortunately). But, the real kicker comes in the semi-announcement for the LTE-based devices that will be showing up next year.

McAdam said that, come CES 2011 (which is in January), the company will show off "half-a-dozen" LTE-based handsets and tablets, all manufactured by the top OEMs in the world. And, all of those goodies will be available in the first half of 2011. While he didn't go into detail, there's no surprise there, as the company will need to have something to announce at CES. So, stay tuned. The 4G war is about to heat up, soon enough. And, for all the gory details (including city and airport listings) check out the press release below.

Press Release

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Verizon underscored its rapid deployment of the world's first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network today from the CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ 2010 conference. Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon, detailed the company's major network launch in 38 major metropolitan areas, covering more than 110 million Americans, by the end of the year. In addition, the company is launching 4G LTE in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast – both the airports within the launch areas plus airports in other key cities.

McAdam said, "We are driven by the vision to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband connectivity and mobility to rural and urban Americans alike. With our initial 4G LTE launch, we will immediately reach more than one-third of all Americans where they live, right from the start. And, we will quickly introduce 4G LTE throughout the Verizon coverage area."

McAdam highlighted the metropolitan areas for the initial launch, which include:

Large sections of the Northeast Corridor, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. as well as Rochester, New York

Throughout Miami and south Florida, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and New Orleans as well as Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee

Chicagoland, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Pittsburgh and major cities in Ohio

Major population centers in California as well as Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas

(A list of all metropolitan areas and airports is located at the end of the news release.)

Verizon Wireless is building its 4G LTE network with the same commitment to performance and reliability for which it has long been recognized. Verizon Wireless' laser focus on reliability is based on rigid engineering standards and a disciplined deployment approach year after year.

Enterprise users, businesses and individuals can immediately benefit from Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network this year. While Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network promises much more than speed, the first application gives employees the ability to work at significantly faster speeds and improved latency, increasing productivity and the opportunity to get work done where their business takes them.

McAdam continued, "Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network will also be available in the commercial airports in the 38 metropolitan areas, plus we're launching airports in other key cities coast to coast, giving road warriors added coverage when they travel. Every time we've built a next generation network, our customers have seen real benefits to their bottom lines. Taking advantage of the first large-scale LTE network on the globe gives our customers a competitive advantage."

Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE rollout 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 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments. These speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers' current or promised 3G network speeds.

By leveraging its 700 MHz spectrum for LTE deployment in the United States, Verizon Wireless is capable of quickly deploying a high-quality wireless broadband network with excellent coverage. The company is currently installing LTE equipment at existing cell sites and switching centers around the United States as part of its extensive, ongoing investment in its voice and data network infrastructure.

In addition to the 38 major metropolitan areas, Verizon Wireless is launching its 4G LTE network in West Lafayette, Ind., home of Purdue University. The public university is using several innovative software applications on Verizon Wireless' 3G network that improve student engagement and success, and Verizon Wireless is working with Purdue to explore the next phase of how 4G LTE technology can improve e-learning across the nation.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network.

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Major Metropolitan Area Deployment

Akron, Ohio

Athens, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Baltimore, Maryland

Boston, Massachusetts

Charlotte, North Carolina

Chicago, Illinois

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas, Texas

Denver, Colorado

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Houston, Texas

Jacksonville, Florida

Las Vegas, Nevada

Los Angeles, California

Miami, Florida

Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota

Nashville, Tennessee

New Orleans, Louisiana

New York, New York

Oakland, California

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Orlando, Florida

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Phoenix, Arizona

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Rochester, New York

San Antonio, Texas

San Diego, California

San Francisco, California

San Jose, California

Seattle/Tacoma, Washington

St. Louis, Missouri

Tampa, Florida

Washington, D.C.

West Lafayette, Indiana

West Palm Beach, Florida

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Commercial Airport Deployment (Airport Name, City, State)

Austin-Bergstrom International, Austin, Texas

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal, Glen Burnie, Maryland

Bob Hope, Burbank, California

Boeing Field/King County International, Seattle, Washington

Charlotte/Douglas International, Charlotte, North Carolina

Chicago Midway International, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago O'Hare International, Chicago, Illinois

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Covington, Kentucky

Cleveland-Hopkins International, Cleveland, Ohio

Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas

Dallas/Fort Worth International, Fort Worth, Texas

Denver International, Denver, Colorado

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

George Bush Intercontinental/Houston, Houston, Texas

Greater Rochester International, Rochester, New York

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta, Georgia

Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawaii

Jacksonville International, Jacksonville, Florida

John F. Kennedy International, New York, New York

John Wayne Airport-Orange County, Santa Ana, California

Kansas City International, Kansas City, Missouri

La Guardia, New York, New York

Lambert-St. Louis International, St. Louis, Missouri

Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts

Long Beach/Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California

Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, California

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Metairie, Louisiana

McCarran International, Las Vegas, Nevada

Memphis International, Memphis, Tennessee

Metropolitan Oakland International, Oakland, California

Miami International, Miami, Florida

Minneapolis-St. Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Nashville International, Nashville, Tennessee

New Castle, Wilmington, North Carolina

Newark Liberty International, Newark, New Jersey

Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International, San Jose, California

North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada

Orlando International, Orlando, Florida

Orlando Sanford International, Sanford, Florida

Palm Beach International, West Palm Beach, Florida

Philadelphia International, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, Mesa, Arizona

Pittsburgh International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Port Columbus International, Columbus, Ohio

Portland International, Portland, Oregon

Rickenbacker International, Columbus, Ohio

Ronald Reagan Washington National, Arlington, Virginia

Sacramento International, Sacramento, California

Salt Lake City International, Salt Lake City, Utah

San Antonio International, San Antonio, Texas

San Diego International, San Diego, California

San Francisco International, San Francisco, California

Seattle-Tacoma International, Seattle, Washington

St. Augustine, Saint Augustine, Florida

St. Petersburg-Clearwater International, Clearwater, Florida

Tampa International, Tampa, Florida

Teterboro, Teterboro, New Jersey

Trenton Mercer, Trenton, New Jersey

Washington Dulles International, Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.

Will Rogers World, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

William P. Hobby, Houston, Texas

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.