Verizon Wireless has tapped enterprise small cell vendor SpiderCloud to bring its first dual-band 4G small cells to its business customers and public venues, the pair announced Tuesday.

SpiderCloud Wireless has been an early mover in enterprise small cells. The vendor has had 3G systems up and running for three years with operators like Vodafone UK , and it was the first to commercially ship 4G systems. And while other, bigger vendors like Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC), Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Nokia Networks and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) are still just talking about multi-mode small cell deployments, SpiderCloud has been shipping 3G/4G nodes since June of this year. (See Vodafone Deploys SpiderCloud's Small Cells, Ericsson Preps Multimode Small Cell Launch, Nokia Jumps Into 4G Small Cell Mosh Pit and AlcaLu, Qualcomm Prep Multimode Small Cells.)

Verizon Wireless is the first operator to announce plans for small cells that pack two LTE bands into one node, which it will offer as a managed service to its enterprise customers. SpiderCloud CMO Ronny Haraldsvik says the company has been trialing the multi-band devices with its carrier customers since this summer. (See SpiderCloud Shipping LTE Biz Small Cells.)

SpiderCloud's enterprise radio access network (E-RAN) includes a services node to control up to 100 self-organizing, multi-access small cells. One node can cover enterprises and venues of up to 1.5 million square feet, Haraldsvik says. The small vendor prides itself in its ability to get up and running in just days using an enterprise's Ethernet local access network, a key requirement for indoor deployments. (Want to know the differences between types of small cells? Click here: Know Your Small Cell: Home, Enterprise, or Public Access?)

For more on small cells, head over to the small cell content channel on Light Reading.

SpiderCloud also supplies Power-over-Ethernet Radio Nodes for single-band 3G and dual-band 3G+4G, but Verizon is focused primarily on the dual-mode LTE nodes as it bolsters support for voice-over-LTE and, eventually, looks to refarm its 3G network. The carrier is also working with Alcatel-Lucent on LTE small cells for both indoor and outdoor locations and has voiced its support for Ericsson's Radio Dot indoor system in the past. (See Verizon Deploys AlcaLu's LTE Small Cells and Verizon Welcomes Ericsson's Radio Dot.)

Verizon appears to be getting a jump on multimode small cells over competitor AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), which has traditionally been much more vocal about the development of them. AT&T expects to have those in the 3G/4G variety in deployment next year. (See Verizon Beefing Up Network for VoLTE, Multicast Video, AT&T: Multimode Small Cells by Early 2015 and AT&T Has LTE Small Cells 'in the Lab'.)

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading