As we noted yesterday, Verizon was having their press conference today to make the official announcement about the launch of 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) this afternoon, and as of Sunday, Dec. 5th, you'll be able to walk into a company store and get yourself some of that sweet, sweet mobile speed.
As much as people desire faster mobile speeds, there are a few caveats to this announcement. Number one is that, for the time being, this will only be for Windows-based laptops. There is currently no support for Apple laptops, nor are there any phones or Wi-Fi modems taking advantage of the technology. The second disclaimer is, it is rolling out to a lot of people on Sunday, but only if you live in one of the 39 major metropolitan areas in the United States it covers, or you happen to pass through one of the 60 airports with coverage.
For the nitty gritty of it all, you'll be paying $50 a month for five GBs, or $80 for ten, with a $10 per GB overage fee. To prevent overages you will receive alerts at 50, 75, 90 and 100 percent of plan usage. You will also be able to log into the Access Manager at any time to see how much of your data plan you've used thus far for the month.
Speeds will run around five to 12 Mbps on the down, depending on the amount of network traffic, and two to five Mbps on the upload side of the equation. According to Tony Malone, VP of Network Operations Support for Verizon Wireless, these speeds have been calculated for just about any device coming on to the network. (No, they didn't imply the iPhone, although the question was worded to lead things that way)
Getting a bit technical on ya, network hand-off between 3G and 4G will be seamless depending on which way it goes. If you move from a 4G area to a 3G area, the device will switch automatically in the background. If you enter a 4G area while connected via 3G, you will stay on 3G until such time as you reconnect.
For the time being the devices will only be on sale at Verizon stores, and through their online site, but third-party retailers will be added eventually. Also, if a laptop modem isn't your cup of tea, Verizon did say additional consumer devices would be shown off at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Jan. Never fear, TechnoBuffalo will be there in force this year to bring you all of that coverage. (although, since we'll be on Mac laptops, we won't be doing it via Verizon's LTE network …)
In case you missed the areas with coverage, they are:
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Major Metropolitan Area Deployment (Dec. 5, 2010)
- Akron, Ohio
- Athens, Georgia
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, Dallas, Texas
- Denver, Colorado
- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- Houston, Texas
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Los Angeles, California
- Miami, Florida
- Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- New York, New York
- Oakland, California
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Rochester, New York
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Diego, California
- San Francisco, California
- San Jose, California
- Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Tampa, Florida
- Washington, D.C.
- West Lafayette, Indiana
- West Palm Beach, Florida
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Commercial Airport Deployment (Airport Name, City, State) Dec. 5, 2010
- Austin-Bergstrom International, Austin, Texas
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal, Glen Burnie, Maryland
- Bob Hope, Burbank, California
- Boeing Field/King County International, Seattle, Washington
- Charlotte/Douglas International, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Chicago Midway International, Chicago, Illinois
- Chicago O'Hare International, Chicago, Illinois
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Covington, Kentucky
- Cleveland-Hopkins International, Cleveland, Ohio
- Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas
- Dallas/Fort Worth International, Fort Worth, Texas
- Denver International, Denver, Colorado
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- George Bush Intercontinental/Houston, Houston, Texas
- Greater Rochester International, Rochester, New York
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta, Georgia
- Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Jacksonville International, Jacksonville, Florida
- John F. Kennedy International, New York, New York
- John Wayne Airport-Orange County, Santa Ana, California
- Kansas City International, Kansas City, Missouri
- La Guardia, New York, New York
- Lambert-St. Louis International, St. Louis, Missouri
- Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts
- Long Beach/Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California
- Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, California
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Metairie, Louisiana
- McCarran International, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Memphis International, Memphis, Tennessee
- Metropolitan Oakland International, Oakland, California
- Miami International, Miami, Florida
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Nashville International, Nashville, Tennessee
- New Castle, Wilmington, Delaware
- Newark Liberty International, Newark, New Jersey
- Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International, San Jose, California
- North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Orlando International, Orlando, Florida
- Orlando Sanford International, Sanford, Florida
- Palm Beach International, West Palm Beach, Florida
- Philadelphia International, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix, Arizona
- Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, Mesa, Arizona
- Pittsburgh International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Port Columbus International, Columbus, Ohio
- Portland International, Portland, Oregon
- Rickenbacker International, Columbus, Ohio
- Ronald Reagan Washington National, Arlington, Virginia
- Sacramento International, Sacramento, California
- Salt Lake City International, Salt Lake City, Utah
- San Antonio International, San Antonio, Texas
- San Diego International, San Diego, California
- San Francisco International, San Francisco, California
- Seattle-Tacoma International, Seattle, Washington
- St. Augustine, Saint Augustine, Florida
- St. Petersburg-Clearwater International, Clearwater, Florida
- Tampa International, Tampa, Florida
- Teterboro, Teterboro, New Jersey
- Trenton Mercer, Trenton, New Jersey
- Washington Dulles International, Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
- Will Rogers World, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- William P. Hobby, Houston, Texas
What say you? Are you excited for the LTE launch?
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