Come Tomorrow, More Than Half of the U.S. Population will Have Access to Verizon's 4G LTE Network
Verizon announced it will be flipping the 4G LTE switch on for another 15 cities come this Thursday, an announcement that will bring Verizon's 4G LTE network to more than half of the U.S. population.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the latest step in a rollout Verizon has been telegraphing all year. The network went live in December 2010 as an LTE service that shipped before any smartphones could use it, then the operator committed in March to reaching 145 markets by the end of 2011, adding 19 cities in June alone. Thursday's 15-city flip is what pushes coverage past half the U.S. population, keeping that year-end target credible.
The timing matters because of what else changed around it: Verizon confirmed in early July that it would end unlimited smartphone data in favor of usage-based pricing starting July 7, and its iPhone launch earlier in 2011 had already analysts hypothesizing a large customer migration away from rival carriers. Coverage breadth and metered pricing are landing together.
First-order effects
- Residents and businesses in the 15 newly switched-on cities get access to Verizon's LTE network immediately, putting more than half the U.S. population within its footprint as of this week.
- Verizon's new tiered data plans now govern how customers in these cities consume the faster network, since unlimited smartphone plans ended July 7.
Second-order effects
- AT&T, facing a rival whose iPhone availability already drew rumored defection waves and now matches it on next-generation coverage in over half the country, comes under pressure to accelerate its own LTE timetable.
- Device makers gain a larger addressable market for LTE handsets and modems on Verizon's network, shifting where manufacturers prioritize their first 4G hardware releases.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, nationwide LTE footprint becomes the baseline competitive metric among U.S. carriers, with quarterly city-count announcements replacing speed claims as the marketing battleground.
- The pairing of rapid coverage expansion with the death of unlimited data points toward an industry structure where carriers monetize network superiority through usage-based pricing rather than flat-rate plans.
The trend: U.S. carriers are racing to blanket the country in LTE while simultaneously moving customers onto metered data plans, making network reach the new differentiator once unlimited plans are gone.