Verizon Wireless is planning to launch a 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network by the end of 2010. According to Verizon President/COO Lowell McAdam, the network will go live in 38 metropolitan areas and 60 commercial airports throughout the country. Coverage will include much of the Northeast Corridor, from Boston to Washington, D.C.; portions of the South, from Miami to Dallas-Ft. Worth and New Orleans to North Carolina; Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh; and major cities in California as well as Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas.
Average data rates are anticipated to be 5Mb/s-12Mb/s on the downlink and 2Mb/s-5Mb/s on the uplink. In addition to leveraging its 700MHz spectrum, Verizon is also installing LTE gear in cell sites and making other tweaks to its existing network.
Verizon Wireless also recently added programming from Disney XD, a Disney Channel spinoff, and ABC Family to its V Cast video service. This deal is seen as a strengthening of a long-term relationship between ABC/Disney (and its ESPN Media Network) and Verizon Communications.
