By Much like T-Mobile did this week, Verizon took the CES as an opportunity to give us an update on its 4G LTE status. Big Red reminds us that it currently deploys the world’s largest commercial 4G LTE network, with 473 markets and 273.5 million “potential customers” (meaning those living in America) covered.
The company’s original goal was to get its entire 3G footprint covered by the end of 2013, and it looks like there will be no issues reaching that goal. Verizon says close to 89% of its 3G footprint is covered by the super fast data speeds. By mid-year, almost all of Verizon’s 3G footprint will be covered, and the entire 3G footprint will be covered by year’s end.
Verizon has been ruthless in its rollout plans, outpacing its biggest competitors — AT&T and Sprint — at a very impressive rate. Verizon had a nice head start, of course, but its rollouts have remained steady and numerous even through today. It’s hard to find a major market without the carrier’s premium signal beaming down, and you’d be surprised how many smaller markets are currently enjoying LTE service.
It’s worthy to note that Sprint expects most of its 3G footprint to be covered by LTE by the end of this year, as well as AT&T. The difference is that neither of them promised to be completely finished, and that’s something Verizon can take into this year with its head held high. Read on for full details.
When it comes to wireless service, coverage and speed count. Customers can get the most out of the latest 4G LTE smartphones and tablets when they are used over a pervasive and speedy 4G LTEnetwork.
So it matters that, as 2013 begins, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is now available in 473 marketsand extends to 273.5 million potential customers. Already the largest commercial 4G LTE network in the world, the Verizon Wireless network continues to expand. Currently covering close to 89 percent of its U.S. footprint, by mid-year 4G LTE will be available in nearly every US market currently served by the company’s 3G data service. And by year’s end, the Verizon 4G LTE footprint will completely cover the area served today by its 3G network.
With the wide availability of 4G LTE, companies can use M2M solutions to make their businesses more efficient and secure, while consumers can use 4G LTE devices to interact with friends, family and brands through mobile video and online gaming. It also means more people across the country can take advantage of 4G LTE’s speed and coverage to access new and exciting services, including the in-home solution HomeFusion Broadband.
Fueled by expanding 4G LTE coverage, eMarketer predicts that more than 73 million people will watch mobile video in 2013, a 20 percent increase from 2012. And when a business invests in a Machine-to-Machine, online collaboration or mobile payment solution, it has more potential return on that investment with more deployment options in more parts of the country.
This year, the company also will continue to work with rural communications companies through LTE in Rural America, helping them to build and operate a 4G LTE network in their areas.
As we move forward in 2013 with the expansion of our 4G LTE network, we will continue seeing innovative products and solutions that reshape communications in many areas, ranging from business to education to healthcare.
89% of network is LTE, and yet I —STILL— get a crappy 3G signal quite often,. . .FRUSTRATING!!! Vzn is way, way, way overhyped. They supposedly test their network.
I’m one unimpressed Verizon customer, been with them nearly 3yrs, seriously considering switching to T-Mobile in May/June for the Galaxy S4!!!
I’ve been with verizon for, what is it now? 15 or more years and have always had excellent service with them. Guess it just depends on where you live, like all carriers.
You won’t regret switching to T-Mobile. I too, used to be a Verizon prisoner before I found GSM.
> 89% of network is LTE, and yet I —STILL— get a crappy 3G signal quite often
Because LTE is *NOT* 3G. They are totally different.
Not sure why you don’t want a cheap LTE phone… and just enjoy extremely high speeds. Today. Now.
The phones cost $0-$50 (or you can get a more expensive one).
The LTE service costs $0 more than slow 3G.
If you live in an area that is totally void of all 3G and all LTE… then you can’t really expect to connect, can you? (But you don’t mention your city, or state.)
“Super fast” ? LOL not anymore….
I still get upwards of 40-50 megabits down, and 20-30 megabits up in many areas here in Milwaukee. I guess it all depends on your area.
Heck, I even had 60 Mbps a few times when I got my Droid Charge, but now Sacramento is oversaturated with LTE phones, and my average has gone down to 19 Mbps on my GS3. When i stand right next to an LTE tower, I get 35+ Mbps.
i would still consider 19 down to be quite fast
It’s upsetting to see HSPA+ customers get faster speeds than my Verizon LTE. HSPA+ has much higher ping, but higher average download speeds in Sacramento.
I dont speak first hand, but i’ve had my cousin run speedtests on his tmobile phone. He’s in the bronx and has sent me speeds between 2-6 mbps. So im sure a lot of it has to do with network load. Perhaps that HSPA+ is much much less strained than the LTE? 2 million LTE users on one tower and 200,000 hspa+ users on one , it shouldnt be surprising if both those network speeds were in the same ball park.
I would imagine the Bronx has a much higher population density per square mile than Sacramento.
i would too, i was simply using that as an example that
perhaps Verizon exponentially more customers than tmobile in Sacramento. Not that i know one way or the other, but its worth considering. Now Sprint (which i have) is a carrier with no excuse lol.
Yes, Sprint is taking their sweet time with LTE roll out. IF only they didn’t waste their time with WiMAX a few years ago, they would have had a healthy LTE network already.
Meanwhile on Sprint’s LTE I get 0mpbs since it doesn’t exist in most places yet, and the one time I actually did find it, it was about 3mpbs down.
I agree as i have seen the speeds on verizon go as low as 7mps in NYC.
Sprint and AT&T will have all of their 3G converted to LTE this year as well? I guess that can’t be too hard considering how much smaller their 3G footprints are than Verizon’s.
Hopefully Verizon gets the ball rolling on covering the 1x coverage area with LTE as well. I hate visiting family in Alaska and getting a crappy 1x connection.
Verizon LTE is spotty and unreliable at best. We supposedly have 9 LTE towers in Bakersfield CA and one is about a quarter mile from my house. I STILL can’t get 4G and my 3G is weak as well. Verizon blows and they’re hyping their weakness. Oldest marketing ploy in the book.
That’s just your area. I never lose 4G in Baltimore. Anywhere.
Spotty and unreliable? Im in socal not too far from LA and I have 4G almost everywhere I go, hell I live in a small ~10,000 people town and i usually have full bars. with speeds always over 10mbs
What phone do you have? Because it could just be a phone with a bad radio…
I’m in Bakersfield as well and never lose LTE coverage. I live in the southwest and work in the northeast. Not once has my phone dropped out of LTE.
If you are that close, to that many 4G towers, and you STILL can’t connect… it’s your phone… not “all 9 towers are broken”.
I live in a small town in Ga. and we just received 4G LTE in December. I am shocked that Verizon has covered as much as they have. And I get around 20MB Sec DL speeds.
Nice! I just moved from a small town in Wa — they turned on LTE last November. 4G was giving me 5.0 Mbps down — which was 10 times (!!) faster than 3G 0.5 Mbps down >.<
I'm back in San Diego and pulling down 28-33 Mbps around town… breathed new life into my Rezound and I'm crushing the hell out of my unlimited account… I suppose the novelty will wear off but for now — good times !
We’ve had 4g here in my city for over a year and a half, but I still don’t get 4g inthe majority of the city.
Love VZW here in No. VA.
I live an hour south of St Louis and I don’t have 4g
Are they talking about covering 89% of the people currently covered by 3G or 89% of the land area? Because those can be 2 completely different things.
It says many times 89% of its 3G footprint.. Mindblown you didn’t see that as it even says it in the title of the article…
They don’t define their 3G footprint clearly as the LAND it is covering or the PEOPLE it is covering. And if you look at their 3G coverage map, you see a standard coverage map, whereas their 4G coverage map only shows dots over the cities they cover.
Let me give you an example. Say I have two 3G towers that cover 10 square miles each, but do not overlap. One tower’s land area has a population of 99. The other has a population of 1. If I put up a 4G tower in the same spot as the first 3G tower, I am now covering 99% of the PEOPLE that are currently covered in 3G with 4G, but I am only covering 50% of the LAND area. Big difference in statistics.
No need to be rude. I asked an honest question. These companies tweak statistics all the time to make themselves look better.
I wasn’t trying to be rude, I was literally sitting here gaping thinking you missed the words 3G footprint at the top. I read your question wrong, because I took it as 89% of their 3G coverage or 89% of land in the US (I’m sick and just woke up, give me a break :P)
Also Verizon still has the standard coverage map for 4G, you just have to go to the homepage (Not sure if its the same with other pages) and look under service and support for Verizon wireless coverage map.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/wireless-coverage-area-map.shtml
So by the looks of it, it seems more like 89% of the people covered by 3G now have 4G and not 89% of the actual land is covered.
Good question, because I had never even thought about that before..
Thank you for clarifying and for a link to the page with that map. That answered my question. Seems like only about 50-60% of the 3G land area is covered.
That is incorrect. Mindblown you haven’t looked at the coverage map (footprint) lately. The 89% is pops, not footprint. They specified that in the keynote. Mind blown!
These are all TOTALLY different:
A. We cover 89% of the country’s land.
B. We cover 89% of the people.
C. We cover 89% of our 3G coverage map.
(“C” might be 89% of 50%. But we aren’t about to tell you that.)
“A” is the *ONLY* valuable number to me. And the one Verizon NEVER advertises. Why? Because it would be extremely low.
According to Verizon’s SEC 10k reporting that was released in Feb ’12, the 4G coverage should match the 3G coverage by mid-2013, not by the end of 2013 anymore.
woohoo! keep it coming!
Still no 4G in Northwest New Jersey.
Here in NYC, Verizon is definitely the #1 service. I have Sprint, and i doubt theyll have most of their 3G footprint covered by the end of the year.
Verizon just launched it in my work area and it was the last of my locations that I’m in. I live in RI and if say about 80% of my state is covered I’m actually shocked when I see 3g on my phone when I’m in RI. I have an ATT all the bigger cities have LTE but not the ruaral towns wich do have it on Verizon.