Verizon announced today that it will be holding a press conference on December 1st to discuss its LTE rollout plans. The press conference will begin at 12:00 noon EST and is available via teleconference and on twitter (@VerizonWireless #VZW4G). The carrier is expected to blanket 38 major metropolitan areas and more than 110 million Americans with high-speed mobile broadband access.
Verizon is coming down to the wire with its 4G rollout. The carrier promised earlier this year that its LTE network would go live by the end of the year. With only a few weeks remaining in 2010, Verizon must hurry to flip the switch if it wishes to meet its self-imposed launch deadline. The carrier must also prepare its LTE devices for this big launch. Verizon has not provided detailed information on any of its launch LTE devices, but the carrier has hinted that it will offer LTE modems first, followed by handsets in 2011.
Verizon is not the only carrier rolling out LTE this year. MetroPCS began turned on its LTE network in Las Vegas earlier this year and is expected to bring LTE to its entire service area by the end of 2011. The wireless carrier also released the Samsung Craft, the first LTE feature phone available in the US. Cellular South also recently announced its LTE plans. The regional carrier will be working with Samsung to build out its 4G network and will offer two 4G devices from Samsung by the end of 2011.
Full press release with the Verizon Press conference details is available on the page two.