Verizon Wireless is in final preparations to launch their LTE network by the end of this month. With speeds that are supposed to reach up to 12 Mbps on the download, as well as ultra low latency so websites pop up like magic, this is going to be the first major cellular network upgrade to happen within North America. Sweden and Norway have already been enjoying LTE for some time now, and Germany is on track to their high speed surf on by the end of this year, so it’s nice to see America catching up now.
Who exactly is going to build this LTE network? According to Verizon, they’ll be spending about $4 billion over the next 4 years with Alcatel-Lucent, who is going to handle everything from IP, optical and microwave backhaul and transport, to offering a range of services that can throttle and control data usage.
“Constant network improvement is in our DNA,” said Tony Melone, chief technology officer at Verizon Wireless. “Network reliability is a top reason business and consumers choose and stay with us. With Alcatel-Lucent’s strong support, we continue to optimize our networks and will remain the most reliable in the nation for years to come.” Strong words coming out of America’s largest operator, but he does have a point. People stick with Verizon because it just simply works. You pay out the nose for their service, but chances are you’ll get coverage, even if you’re in the woods, running from wild bears and wolves.
If you’d like to save some dough, but at the same time get the internet on your phone at super high speeds, then there’s always T-Mobile and their HSPA+ network which today hits 21 Mbps and in a year will hit 42 Mbps. The T-Mobile G2 is capped at 14.4 Mbps, but they’ll be faster pieces of kit on the market in 12 months. I’m sure of it.