Verizon Wireless is getting ready to launch new 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) towns and cities soon as it gears up to cover 260 million potential customers in more than 400 markets by the end of the year.

Verizon's 4G currently offers some of the fastest wireless broadband service in the U.S., with 5Mbit/s to 12Mbit/s average downloads and higher burst rates. The operator's LTE deployment is also the largest in America, covering 200 markets and 200 million people at present.

"Some of our local markets have been whispering about upcoming additions to our 4G LTE footprint that will be 'coming soon,'" a Verizon spokesman says in an email to Light Reading Mobile. "No official launch dates yet; we are beginning to test and turn up additional cell sites."

The operator launched its 200th LTE market, in Dothan, Ala., last month. Towns like Brunswick and Macon, Ga., are expected to follow soon.

Expect more new markets in Florida, Ohio, Texas and other regions, too. The carrier is also expanding existing coverage in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

April 19 appears to be the launch date for at least some of these additions.

So what's a 'market,' anyway?
More than 250 million of the 311 million-plus people that live in the U.S. now reside in or near urban areas.

With 200 million people already covered, Verizon is targeting much smaller towns and cities than before. This can be seen by the fact that it is anticipating that deploying LTE in the next 200 markets will only add 60 million potential customers to the 200 million already covered.

Big Red, however, still has a massive head start on any other LTE rivals in the U.S. In contrast, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said early this year that it covers 74 million pops with LTE but has since added more markets.

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— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile