Verizon 4G Coming to Alaska
Looks like the Verizon 4G network will be even bigger than the Verizon 3G network.
An application has been sent to the FCC to buy a block of 4G network spectrum from a company called Triad. If the deal goes ahead – and at the moment there’s no reason to think it won’t – Verizon will have its own 4G cellphone towers in Alaska, rather than having to rely on a roaming service as it does now for 3G services.
That means all of Verizon’s services will be available in Alaska.
Boston Gets 4 x 4G Networks
Mobile phone users in Boston are getting ready to become the most 4G city in the US so far.
Starting next month, Boston will be see 4G phone coverage from four networks – two using WiMAX technology (Clearwire & Sprint) and two using LTE technology (MetroPCS & Verizon). Sprint and Clearwire share the same WiMAX network. Sprint CEO Dan Hasse confirmed last month the Boston launch would be “sometime in September”. Sprint is already selling the HTC EVO 4G phone and is launching the second of its 4G phones, the Samsung Epic 4G any day now.
Clearwire is set to offer data plans for modems starting form $30 a month. Verizon will also offer data services rather than phones, while MetroPCS is set to launch with another Samsung 4G phone, named the Craft.
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.
November Launch For Verizon 4G Phone Network
Stories are flying around the mobile phone industry that the long promised Verizon 4G network will launch on November 15 in 30 markets.
Verizon has always said that 33% of their customers will have 4G coverage when their network launches, which ties in with the 30 market figure. Those first markets are said to include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.
It’s also rumored that Verizon will offer two USB wireless data cards on the same launch day.
Verizon Launch Date for Network & 4G Phones
Rumors circulating around the mobile phone industry – and said to come from a well informed source – say that Verizon will start rolling out it much awaited 4G phone network on November 15.
Although Verizon has been testing their 4G network in selected cities for some time, no commercial launches have yet happened – despite Sprint charging ahead with its 4G network, which is now available in over 30 markets.
Verizon’s November 15 rollout is thought to include 25 markets with a “slew” of new 4G phones being released to the market on November 26, Black Friday traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year in the US.
Verizon Starts Testing 4G Phone Network
Verizon Wireless is to start “friendly user trials” of its future 4G mobile phone network in five US cities.
Similar trials have already taken place in Boston and Seattle but it’s not yet known which cities have been chosen for this round of testing of the Verizon 4G network. Users are likely to be restricted – at least in the initial stages – to Verizon employees and those of technology partners.
Big Red says it’s still on target to launch a 4G network in 25-30 markets by the end of this year.
No Unlimited Data Plans for Verizon 4G
When Verizon’s 4G network is finally rolled out it plans to charge phone users differently for its 4G services.
Instead of offering unlimited mobile data plans or per minute voice plans, Verizon is likely to use a system of data “buckets”. These are designed, Verizon says, to make more sense of the huge growth in 4G smartphone related traffic that’s expected as more 4G phones access the mobile networks more often.
Verizon plans to offer 4G in 30 – 40 markets by the end of the year with a complete national 4G network in place by 2013.
Verizon To Release Five 4G Phones
While Sprint is releasing its first 4G phone next month, Verizon has said it doesn’t expect to have 4G phones available until May 2011.
The good news is that by that time Verizon should have five 4G phones available. Although exact details of the phones aren’t yet known Verizon says the phones will most likely be made by Motorola, HTC (makers of the 4G EVO), LG and RIM (makers of the Blackberry).
However, it’s likely that many of those manufacturers will have 4G phones available on other networks before the end of this year – just as HTC will have with the EVO 4G which is coming to Sprint next month.
