Verizon Wireless to Launch 4G LTE Service

Verizon Wireless to Launch 4G LTE Service on December 5
Verizon Wireless confirmed this morning that its 4G network would launch on Sunday, December 5. Long Term Evolution (LTE) service will be available in 38 cities and 60 airports immediately upon its launch.

The network will support 5 – 12 Mbps download speeds and uploads of 2 – 5 Mbps. These speeds are about the same as many home broadband connections in the U.S., which makes it extremely fast by mobile standards. It’s not quite the speed of lighting from the commercial, but it is about 10 times faster than Verizon’s existing 3G network.

Interestingly, Verizon isn’t launching its 4G service with any mobile handsets. The first device to support Verizon’s LTE network will be the LG VL600 USB modem, with the Pantech UML290 following soon. Both devices will sell for $100 after a $50 rebate and a two-year contract.

Verizon subscribers will be able to select from two 4G LTE mobile broadband plans: $50 per month for 5 GB of data or $80 for 10 GB.

While there is no cap on how much bandwidth one can consume, we are concerned that there is no unlimited plan available. Overages will cost $10 per GB in both of Verizon’s LTE plans. Despite its impressive speeds, the cost of these packages means that an avid Internet user would be unable to switch to LTE as a primary source of broadband. This also means that we’re not yet likely to see a cord-cutting revolution like the one that occurred when people switched from landlines to cellphones.

Verizon’s initial LTE offering is both ambitious and aggressive. Its launch in 38 cities will immediately make it the largest provider of 4G wireless in the U.S. The carrier has stated that it will gradually expand its 4G footprint and hopes to have completed expansion by the end of 2013.

Here is the list of the 38 cities that will get Verizon 4G LTE on Sunday, December 10:

Akron, Ohio
Athens, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Baltimore, Maryland
Boston, Massachusetts
Charlotte, North Carolina
Chicago, Illinois
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas, Texas
Denver, Colorado
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Houston, Texas
Jacksonville, Florida
Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles, California
Miami, Florida
Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota
Nashville, Tennessee
New Orleans, Louisiana
New York, New York
Oakland, California
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Orlando, Florida
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix, Arizona
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Rochester, New York
San Antonio, Texas
San Diego, California
San Francisco, California
San Jose, California
Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
St. Louis, Missouri
Tampa, Florida
Washington, D.C.
West Lafayette, Indiana
West Palm Beach, Florida

Verizon Wireless to Launch 4G LTE Service on December 5