Starting Sunday, Verizon broadband customers in metro Phoenix will be able to download videos and data at much faster speeds, conduct seamless mobile teleconferences and play online video games effortlessly with no pauses or delays, the service provider says.
The nation's largest wireless carrier rolls out its next-generation 4G LTE wireless network Sunday to customers in the Valley and 37 other U.S. metropolitan areas.
The new network offers an Internet connection that is up to 10 times as fast as the current 3G network and will initially be offered to business customers and "road warriors" with mobile computers, said Jenny Weaver, a spokeswoman at Verizon's regional headquarters in Chandler.
"We've taken the desktop computing experience and made it mobile," Weaver said, adding that Verizon invested $1 billion in its Arizona network over the past 10 years, most of which was spent on equipment upgrades to prepare for 4G service.
The service will be rolled out to consumers in mid 2011 when Verizon introduces a line of 4G-compatible smartphones, she added.
Weaver declined to say how many customers Verizon has in the Phoenix area, but she noted it is one of the carrier's biggest markets.
Besides its regional headquarters, Verizon has a customer-service center in Chandler and employs about 2,800 people in Arizona.
To connect to Verizon's 4G network, laptop users will have to purchase a special modem to plug in to their computer's USB port. There are two varieties of modems that cost $100, with a $50 rebate for a two-year service contract.
The basic service is $50 per month for 5 gigabytes of data and $80 for 10 gigabytes. Overage charges are $10 per gigabyte.
In metro Phoenix, the service is initially available at Sky Harbor International Airport and within a coverage area inside the boundaries of Loop 101 in the north and central Valley and inside the boundaries of Loop 202 in the southeast Valley.
Street-level coverage-area maps will be available online Dec. 5. Customers can go to verizonwireless.com/4Glte to check whether their addresses will be in the initial 4G-coverage area.
The 4G modems are 3G-compatible, so if a user travels outside the 4G-coverage area the user will stay connected.
By 2013, Weaver said, Verizon expects to have its entire U.S. wireless network converted to the 4G LTE platform
Competitor T-Mobile currently offers 4G service in Phoenix and Tucson for laptop and mobile-phone users.
Wireless-carrier Sprint rolled out 4G to its mobile-phone and laptop customers earlier this year in a number of markets, but the service is not yet available in Arizona.
Sprint spokesman Randy Spolter was unable to say when the service may come to Arizona.
Sprint service is based on a WiMAX platform instead of the LTE, or Long-Term Evolution technology that supports Verizon's 4G network. T-Mobile uses yet another technology known as Evolved High Speed Packet Access, or HSPA+.
AT&T plans to roll 4G out to its wireless customers next year using the LTE format.
by Max Jarman The Arizona Republic Dec. 3, 2010 12:00 AM
Verizon brings 4G LTE to Valley
