Success! Verizon Wireless LTE 4G Network Works

Verizon Wireless has successfully completed its first Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G data calls in two cities it has selected as the testing grounds for the next-generation wireless network.

Verizon is testing the LTE 4G network in Boston and Seattle. In both cities, Verizon completed its first successful LTE 4G calls on the 3GPP Release 8 standard. The calls involved streaming video, file uploads and downloads and Web browsing, Verizon Wireless said. The company also made data calls using VoIP to enable voice transmission over the LTE 4G network.

The successful calls over the 700MHz spectrum in Boston and Seattle mark the next step in the deployment of its LTE 4G wireless network.

Boston and Seattle mark the first two cities as Verizon Wireless starts the early testing of its LTE 4G high-speed wireless network. The LTE 4G network is expected to be commercially launched in about 30 markets next year and cover 100 million people. After the initial deployment, Verizon expects to make an aggressive push with its LTE 4G network and offer nationwide LTE 4G in 2013.

Boston and Seattle currently each have 10 LTE 4G cell sites up and running on the 700MHz spectrum. Verizon said its network planners selected Boston and Seattle due to their geographic configuration of suburban and urban areas and their high-tech populations. The field trials in the two cities are expected to help Verizon and its partners understand how to best prepare cell sites and add new technology to the expanding LTE 4G network.

Verizon also is working with a host of partners in the testing and execution of the LTE 4G network, including Alcatel-Lucent in Boston and Ericsson in Seattle, for base station/radio access network; LG and Samsung for trial devices and Starent Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks for network equipment. Additionally, devices from LG and Samsung will soon be supplemented by devices from ST-Ericsson, Motorola and Qualcomm, Verizon said.

According to Verizon, the LTE 4G network is poised to enable breakneck speeds for mobile devices and mobile content delivery.

"Verizon Wireless, with outstanding cooperation from our partner suppliers, is fully committed to harnessing the power of LTE over our 700MHz spectrum," Tony Melone, Verizon Wireless' senior vice president and chief technical officer, said in a statement. "This combination of state-of-the-art technology and prime spectrum will soon make a ubiquitous, highly mobile, super-fast broadband experience a reality for customers. This significant milestone in our LTE 4G network testing, exemplified by the first data calls in Boston and Seattle, further validates our early support and decision to select LTE as the standard for our next-generation wireless broadband network."