Verizon's LTE Network to Reach Two-Thirds of U.S. Population This Week

Marking yet another milestone in its rollout of 4G LTE connectivity, Verizon today announced that with another major expansion coming later this week, the carrier's LTE network will now cover two-thirds of the United States population. This week's expansion, officially going live on Thursday, will see coverage in 27 new markets and expansion of coverage in 44 existing markets.

Verizon Wireless, owner of the nation’s largest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, today announced that it will cover more than two-thirds of the U.S. population when it introduces its 4G LTE network in 27 new markets and expands in 44 markets on April 19. With the new and expanded markets, Verizon Wireless continues to lead the industry in 4G LTE deployment, offering network coverage in 230 markets across the United States.

By the end of the year, Verizon expects to have LTE coverage available in over 400 markets, making the next-generation data speeds available for 260 million people, or well over 80% of the U.S. population.

Verizon, which is leading the major U.S. carriers in LTE deployment, boasts real-world speeds of 5-12 Mbps download and 2-5 Mbps upload. AT&T is also rapidly building out its LTE network, and while it is behind Verizon in its rollout, it does offer faster fallback 3G speeds than Verizon does. Sprint, the third major U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone, has yet to officially launch its LTE services as it seeks to migrate away from WiMAX as its 4G technology, although its LTE network should debut in its first round of markets in the near future.

Apple currently offers LTE compatibility through AT&T and Verizon on the new iPad, with separate models offering the support on each carrier. The company has, however, been embroiled in some controversy in international markets, where its "4G" claims have been targeted by regulators seeking to determine whether Apple has been providing adequate disclosures that the devices will not be compatible with LTE networks in those countries due to differences in the frequencies being used by the carriers.