But its new LTE home router will only appeal to the lightest of data users.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

September 25, 2013

2 Min Read
Verizon Takes LTE Home

With its LTE rollout complete, Verizon Wireless is now looking to bring 4G to the home with a new LTE broadband router, but it isn't likely to have a broad appeal.

The Novatel Wireless Inc. (Nasdaq: NVTL)-built Verizon 4G LTE Broadband Router with Voice, announced Wednesday, is designed to replace the home phone and power home WiFi for up to 10 devices over LTE. Verizon Wireless is offering the router with three plans to choose from: a $20 for voice only, $20 for data only, or $30 for voice and data. The device costs $30 when purchased with a voice and data plan or $50 with a single-service plan, both on a two-year contract.

Here's the catch though: To use a router plan, you must also be on one of Verizon's Share Everything plans. That means the router is dipping from the same data bucket as your smartphone, tablet, or any other devices you have connected. As such you'll hit the data cap pretty quickly. (See Verizon: One Data Bucket to Rule Them All.)

Verizon is targeting the device at small businesses and those customers that may travel and want to take it with them for connectivity on the go. The router also has three Ethernet ports and a backup battery, so that it will work during power outages.

Why this matters
Verizon is on the hunt for new connections for its now-complete LTE rollout. Replicating in-home broadband is a somewhat surprising choice given that its Verizon arm offers FiOS broadband and TV, but given the limits of the LTE router, there likely won't be much risk of cannibalization.

Now that Verizon has total ownership of Verizon Wireless, the company is likely to explore more integration between its various services. Adding home LTE use to the bundle is one step, albeit small, in that direction.

Related posts:

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like