Verizon to switch on 4G network on Sunday, but not for smartphones
Verizon Wireless said Wednesday that it would turn on its 4G wireless network Sunday in 38 U.S. cities, though the new network will not support smartphones until the first half of 2011. — Instead, the 4G network …
Context & Ripple Effects
The launch lands amid a definitional fight over what '4G' even means — BGR had already called out carrier marketing of pre-4G networks as 'the 4G forgery' a month earlier — so Verizon turning on a genuine LTE network in 38 cities is its answer: real next-generation radio, live December 5. The catch is that the first wave of devices is USB modems and mobile hotspots, with smartphones locked out until the first half of 2011.
Pricing sets the early frame: per MobileCrunch's pickup, $50 for 5 GB or $80 for 10 GB per month — plan shapes that follow the November criticism Verizon took over Samsung Galaxy Tab data pricing, and they arrive weeks after Verizon's confirmed joint net-neutrality framework with Google and its call for Congress to rewrite telecom law.
First-order effects
- Early adopters buying 4G modems and hotspots face two-tier data pricing ($50/5 GB, $80/10 GB), while smartphone buyers must wait until the first half of 2011 for compatible handsets.
Second-order effects
- Verizon executives are reportedly exploring charging by connection speed on top of usage as 4G opens new pricing options — unconfirmed, but the tiered modem plans give that idea a template — and rivals' own '4G' claims now face comparison against a live LTE footprint.
Third-order effects
- A working LTE network strengthens Verizon's hand in the parallel policy fights it picked this November — the Google-Verizon net neutrality framework and its push for a telecom-law rewrite — because infrastructure leadership translates into regulatory leverage if the pattern holds.
The trend: US carriers are racing to light up branded 4G networks ahead of the device ecosystem, using launch-day data tiers and regulatory positioning to set terms before handsets arrive.