Skip to Main Content

Verizon to Complete 4G LTE Rollout by Mid-2013

All Verizon Wireless customers with a 4G LTE device should have access to the carrier's super-fast network by the middle of next year, a company executive said yesterday.

November 9, 2012

All Verizon Wireless customers with a 4G LTE device should have access to the carrier's super-fast network by the middle of next year, a company executive said yesterday.

Speaking at the Wells Fargo Securities Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York, Verizon's chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, said the company is aiming to complete its 4G LTE network rollout by mid-2013. He added that Verizon's 4G LTE network, as well as its device lineup, has contributed to recent revenue growth.

"Our lead on 4G LTE and the footprint that we cover, and the reliability that our reputation has been built on… I think word of mouth is spreading that we have the superior network from a reliability standpoint and that the 4G LTE and our coverage … I think we say that we have more coverage than all of our competitors combined," he said. "We will have completed this build by mid-2013."

Verizon mid-last month in Marquette, Mich., two months ahead of schedule. The carrier's 4G LTE network is now available in 419 cities, covering nearly 75 percent of the U.S. population, according to Verizon's website.

Shammo acknowledged that Verizon's 4G LTE network experienced some issues early on, which he said is normal when starting up a new network, but said it is "extremely stable" today.

"People are massively migrating to that network," Shammo said.

At the end of September, approximately 35 percent of total data traffic was traveling over Verizon's 4G LTE network, Nicola Palmer, Verizon chief technical officer said last month at MobileCON 2012 in San Diego. In the coming months, Palmer expects a "majority" of customers to be using 4G LTE data.

Verizon is leading the 4G LTE charge in the U.S., but the carrier got a bit of a head start. The Verizon network went live in Dec. 2010, and AT&T followed suit in late 2011. Sprint launched its network in July, and T-Mobile plans to roll out next year.

For more, see PCMag's Fastest Mobile Networks 2012.