Let the VoLTE and LTE Advanced begin! Today, Verizon announced that those in Parkersburg, West Virginia were getting 4G LTE. Which makes Parkersburg the 500th 4G LTE market for Verizon. Which also means that their LTE network is now “substantially complete and covers nearly 99% of their existing 3G network. Verizon also says that they are covering 95% of the US population. Which is around 298 million people, that have access to Verizon’s LTE network. Now keep in mind that Verizon does not have 298 million customers.
Verizon also announced today that about 57% of their data is served up over their LTE network. Which seems to be a pretty low percentage to me. Perhaps most people have LTE turned off normally because it’s a battery hog? Especially for those that are stuck on a 2-year contract with something like the Droid Bionic or Galaxy Nexus? Who knows. But I definitely expect that number to rise in the next year or so.
What does Verizon do next? Well they are working on VoLTE. Their VoLTE network will start up in earnest in late 2014, which is when big red will be releasing their first all-LTE smartphone. Which, coincidentally, marks the end of CDMA. But CDMA will still be around for a very long time. Probably at least another 6 years, on Verizon’s network. Even longer for Sprint. Like many of you, I’m excited for the end of CDMA. It means we can have unlocked phones on any US carrier, eventually. At least, in theory, that’s how it would work. Knowing Verizon, they’ll probably make it so that won’t happen.
How many of our readers on Verizon are experiencing their blazing fast LTE network? How many of you are still in a 3G area? Let us know in the comments down below.