Verizon Wireless is expected to introduce 4G mobile phones sometime in mid-2011, though early phones will have independent 3G and 4G chipsets built into the phone.
The company's Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be available for notebooks first, according to Verizon, and LTE will be available in up to 30 markets before the end of 2011. The LTE coverage area of these 30 metropolitan areas will span 100 million subscribers.
If Verizon works diligently, the first wave of 4G handsets will become available as fast as three months after its LTE network is fully functional. The company already said its LTE network "will be unmatched in the marketplace, allowing customers to do things never before possible in a wireless environment," as they promise 5 to 12 Mbps download speeds with 2 to 5 Mbps upload speeds.
Despite the current popularity of 3G, providers such as AT&T hope to launch the LTE networks as soon as possible. AT&T continues to struggle to meet demand as the Apple iPhone brings on new data-intensive users in San Francisco, New York, and other key markets. Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are also weary of the amount of data used today by subscribers, as each company works hard to manage their data network traffic.
Sprint will have a 4G network this summer, which is expected to support up to 2.4 Mbps download and 153 Kbps upload speeds.
I think the companies that are opening LTE service up to devices other than mobile phones will succeed in the long run. Verizon already plans to offer it to notebooks, tablets, mobile phones and other products -- and if the company's up to 12 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload speeds are true, Verizon could attract a lot of happy new subscribers.
