LTE Watch: Verizon Goes Live in Q4

Verizon Wireless is finally saying when it will go live with Long-Term Evolution, in this week's roundup of news on the new mobile broadband technology.

As expected, Verizon is going commercial with its LTE network in the fourth quarter. "In the fourth quarter, we'll be turning on [commercial] markets as planned," Verizon Wireless chief technology officer Dick Lynch toldPaul Kapustka of Sidecut Reports and our Kaps Korner blog. This will follow friendly trials of the technology in the third quarter. (See So, What Is Verizon’s LTE Launch Date? and CTIA 2010: Verizon LTE Gets Friendly.) The operator is planning to have 25 to 30 markets up and ready at launch. Data downlink speeds on the new networks are expected to average between 5 Mbit/s and 12 Mbit/s. (See CTIA 2010: Vegas Gadget Revue.)

BlackBerry 's buyout of QNX Software Systems has got the device maker more than just an automotive software developer. QNX has been working with Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) on the vendor's LTE car, gaining experience with the new mobile broadband technology.(See RIM Buys QNX.) RIM hasn't said when it will deliver LTE devices, but the company is clearly interested in the new technology. The Ottawa Citizen reports that RIM paid $200 million for QNX. (See RIM CEO Calls Nortel LTE Patents a 'National Treasure'.)

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) says its TD-LTE network in Shanghai is commercially ready and has been demonstrating what it claims is the first TD-LTE USB dongle. The vendor's "TD-LTE Showcase Network Opening Ceremony" was in Shanghai on April 15. Delegates at the ceremony saw applications that run over a TD-LTE network via USB dongles, including a high-definition video wall -- with 24 simultaneous video streams -- and "high-speed" Internet browsing applications. Motorola is using Sequans Communications chips in the dongle. (See Motorola's Shanghai Hope.)

Verizon broke ground on its LTE innovation center in Waltham, Mass., this week. Our sister publication Information Week has the details.

Here's a few more LTE tidbits you may have missed:

• Chungwha Trials LTE in Taiwan
  
• NSN Tests TD-LTE in Taiwan
  
• Taiwan Takes a Giant Leap Toward LTE
  
• Orange: Dennis Kruse
  
  

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile