Verizon Wireless announced 19 more cities that will get its faster LTE service starting Thursday, bringing the total to 74 metropolitan areas. The new 19 LTE cities include several state capitals such as Sacramento, Calif., Hartford, Conn., Boise, Idaho, Harrisburg, Pa., Indianapolis, Ind., Salt Lake City (with Ogden), Utah; and Madison (with Milwaukee), Wis. The full list of cities is here.
The announcement comes as competitor AT&T is set to launch LTE 4G service in five cities in the U.S. this summer, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
ComputerWorld says Sprint may also begin adding LTE service to its existing nationwide WiMax 4G capability, partly to support a future LTE-ready iPhone, although Sprint has not confirmed those reports. Sprint’s WiMAX service is currently available to 130 million people. Clearwire ended the first quarter 2011 with approximately 6.15 million total subscribers and predicts it will end the year with 9.5 million subs. A detailed coverage map of CLEAR 4G service is available at www.clear.com/coverage.
T-Mobile USA, the fourth largest U.S. wireless carrier, has been promoting its HSPA+ network as a fast 4G technology. T-Mobile says their “4G” network reaches 184 markets and more than 200 million people.
Verizon offers three LTE smartphones; HTC Thunderbolt ($249 with 2-year contract), LG Revolution ($249 with 2-year contract), and Samsung Droid Charge ($299 with 2-year contract). Verizon’s 4G LTE service is fast but battery hungry.
Related Dailywireless articles include; Verizon Expands LTE Network,US Cellular: LTE This Year, T-Mobile: $80 Unlimited Service, T-Mobile: No Mo Unlimited Smartphone Data , Virgin Broadband: $20/month, AT&T: New Prepaid Data Plans, Sprint: EVDO Data Plan $10 More, No Contract Smartphone Plans, MetroPCS: Now 4th Biggest?, Mobile 4G Routers Roll Out
