Verizon Wireless Plans Mass LTE Deployment
In an interview, Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone lays out the carrier's ambitious Long-Term Evolution plans. — Verizon Wireless is planning to light up its Long-Term Evolution (LTE) nationwide network next year in one fell swoop rather …
Context & Ripple Effects
CTO Tony Melone's plan to light up Verizon Wireless's LTE network nationwide in one fell swoop next year caps two years of positioning: the carrier framed itself around openness back in November 2007, then spent 2009 shoring up its device side while the network was built out.
The device groundwork is visible in this year's confirmed and rumored moves — cutting the BlackBerry Storm to $99 against AT&T's iPhone 3G in July, plus unconfirmed reports of an Android handset and of Apple-Verizon talks over iPhone-like handhelds — all pointing at the same problem Melone's announcement addresses: a data-hungry smartphone lineup riding a 3G network.
First-order effects
- A 2010 nationwide LTE launch puts Verizon Wireless ahead of its rivals in the 4G race, letting it sell speed and capacity that AT&T and Sprint cannot match at launch.
- Melone's one-fell-swoop rollout commits Verizon to marketing LTE before a mature LTE device catalog exists, so early adoption depends on USB modems and data cards rather than phones.
Second-order effects
- Rival carriers face pressure to accelerate their own 4G timetables and to defend their 3G networks against a competitor claiming the fastest network label.
- Device makers gain an incentive to prioritize LTE-capable handsets for Verizon, strengthening the rumored Android and BlackBerry pipeline and making the carrier a more credible home for any Apple handheld deal.
Third-order effects
- If Verizon executes on this schedule, US wireless consolidates around LTE as the de facto single 4G standard, ending the CDMA-versus-GSM split that has shaped American handset availability.
- A successful mass deployment makes spectrum depth and backhaul build-out — not retail pricing — the primary axis of competition among national carriers.
The trend: US carriers are racing from patchwork 3G upgrades to LTE as the unified 4G standard, with Verizon Wireless betting that a fast, nationwide deployment converts network advantage into smartphone-market leverage.