Verizon Wireless may reach its goal of blanketing its network with LTE almost six months ahead of schedule, said CFO Fran Shammo. Shammo was speaking at the Wells Fargo Securities Technology, Media & Telecom Conference and told attendees that the carrier would cover its existing 3G CDMA footprint with LTE by mid-2013. This is six months ahead of its previous schedule, which targeted the end of 2013 for a full rollout.
Verizon currently has the nation’s largest LTE network, with coverage that will extend to 260 million POPs by the end of this year. AT&T is Verizon’s closest competitor with a goal of reaching 150 million POPs by the end of 2012 and another 100 million by the end of 2013.