Verizon 4G Data Plans (True Costs?)
Coming hot on the heels of Verizon CFO John Killian’s statement that cellphone “customers will pay for quality and premium service and premium speed”, a leading analyst in the mobile industry has said he thinks Verizon will price its 4G data plans at an extra $10-$15 per month.
Berge Ayvazian of Heavy Reading said, “I expect Verizon to charge a $10 to $15 premium for 4G LTE service over straight EVDO”.
Verizon is due to launch it upcoming 4G phone network in the first half of next year with cities such as
Philadelphia and San Francisco likely to be among the first markets to be switched on.
San Francisco 4G Phone Network – Emergencies Only
Yes, San Francisco is getting a 4G phone network but, no, you can’t use it. Unless you’re in the San Francisco emergency services.
Motorola and the public safety agencies in the Bay area are rolling out a LTE 4G phone network for the exclusive use of EMS and police services. The new network will allow officers and personnel to exchange data faster between mobile units and department offices and databases.
No news yet on when an accessible public 4G phone network will be available in San Francisco.
4G New York, LA and San Francisco
Looks like the promised expansion of the Sprint and Clearwire 4G phone networks to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco is starting to get underway.
A number of mobile phone users with a Sprint EVO 4G are reporting notifications on their handsets that a “4G network is available”.
It’s still early days – and we’ve yet to hear of anyone able to actually make use of the new LA, San Francisco or New York 4G network – but the technology boys and girls at Sprint & Clearwire are obviously working on it.
HTC EVO 4G Phone – Prices & Special Offers
The much awaited HTC 4G EVO Phone is here. But what will it cost you?
Buy the EVO with a Sprint two year phone contract and you can get the HTC EVO 4G for $199.99. Excepting any special offers that might appear from stores like Radio Shack, Walmart or Best Buy that’s about the best price you’re going to find. Existing Sprint customers who just want to upgrade their phone will pay $299.99.
On the other hand, if you want to get your hands on one of those HTC EVO 4G phones without being tied in to a two year phone contract with Sprint the cost is $549.99.
TeliaSonera To Expand 4G Sweden & Norway Coverage
TeliaSonera, the 4G phone operator in Sweden, is expanding its network coverage to another 29 cities across Sweden and Norway.
The mobile service is currently data only – the first 4G phones aren’t expected to hit the mobile market in Europe until next year. Until then, users access the service by wireless modems / dongles. Charges to access the 4G phone service are SKr599 / $83 a month for 30GB of data.
TeliaSonera is also planning to launch 4G in Finland and will also bid for 4G network licenses in Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania.
Sprint Plans Two More 4G Phones This Year
Sprint is planning to release at least two more 4G phones this year, according to reports coming from Sequans Communications, the company that makes parts for the Sprint EVO 4G phone.
Each new 4G phone will aim to deliver high speed mobile video and file streaming data downloads at speeds up to 100 Mbps.
Front and back facing cameras will be used on the new Sprint 4G phones for video conferencing along with a 4.3 inch display for viewing streaming video.
MetroPCS 4G Network Announced
Prepaid mobile carrier MetroPCS has confirmed it will launch its 4G phone network in the second half of this year.
While there’s been no word yet on the cities where 4G will be launched first, some details of the first MetroPCS 4G phone are known.
MetroPCS is partnering with Samsung and the first 4G phone will be the Samsung SCH-r900 – full details on the phone are expected to be released soon.
Sprint Announces HTC EVO 4G Phone
Sprint have just announced the official launch of the HTC 4G Phone. Previously called the HTC Supersonic, Sprint is now taking registrations for the new phone on their website.
We can look forward to such goodies as an 8 megapixel camera with HD, 4.3 inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, Google Googles (using picture taken with your phone camera to search) and Android 2.1.
Full specs and pictures of the HTC 4G.
