On Thursday, Big Red will turn on its 4G LTE network in 27 new markets, bringing its total to 230 potential customers covered

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

April 17, 2012

1 Min Read
Verizon's LTE Blitz Reaches Two-Thirds of US

Verizon Wireless is going on a 4G rampage, bringing its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to 27 new markets and expanding in 44 existing ones this week to increasing its coverage to two-thirds of the U.S.

The carrier announced the deployment update in 28 different press releases on Tuesday, noting that its LTE network will reach 230 U.S. markets once it flips the switch on Thursday. Verizon is on track to cover 400 markets and 260 PoPs (potential customers) by the end of the year.

The new LTE markets include cities and small towns in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas. (See Where's Verizon's 4G Going Next?)

Why this matters
Recent speed tests have pegged AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)'s relatively unloaded LTE network as the faster one right now, but coverage is Verizon's biggest advantage. Comparatively, AT&T covers 74 million PoPs with LTE and plans to reach 150 million by the end of the year. Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), which won't launch LTE until mid-year, says it will cover 123 million PoPs by year's end.

For more


  • Time for a 4G Price War Already?

  • Verizon Adds 7 More LTE Markets

  • Verizon Goes All Out for LTE Smartphones

  • Mapping LTE: AT&T & Verizon's 4G Footprints

  • Verizon Takes LTE to Rural Homes



— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile

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.

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