Verizon confirmed today that Charleston, West Virginia will be among the first metropolitan areas to roll out LTE in 2010. The press release is short on details but confirms that portions of the traditionally rural state will receive LTE connectivity by the end of the year. Additional details on the LTE rollout in West Virginia will be announced at a joint press conference to be held later today with U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia.
This press release is notable as West Virginia is not the first state that comes to mind when one thinks of major technology hubs and leading wireless technology. Inclusion of this state in the highly coveted list of LTE launch cities is surprising and leaves us wondering why. Thanks to GigaOM, we have the answer and it is one filled with politics, money, and influence.
GigaOM astutely points out the Senator Rockefeller is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology. Not so coincidentally, this is the committee that oversees telecommunications regulation in the Senate. What better way to influence the future of telecommunications legislation than to saddle up with the Senator in charge of that regulation and offer super-fast wireless technology for his home state? Of course it is not that cut and dry, but this cozy relationship should raise some eyebrows.
Also at play may be a portion of the FCC’s Mobility Fund, a source of money obtained from the Universal Service Fund that will target the development of rural 3G/4G wireless networks. Verizon recently petitioned the FCC for a slug of this money to help fund regional carriers that want to lease its 4G spectrum and offer high-speed mobile broadband service in rural areas. This move to rollout LTE to a rural state will look good on Verizon’s docket and will position it as a rural-friendly carrier. This will become important if and when Verizon turns up the heat and tries harder to grab a portion of this Mobility Fund.