Verizon Wireless has successfully completed tests of its Fourth Generation (4G) network in Boston and Seattle, proving the concept that began with the purchase of new spectrum from the FCC.

Verizon’s fourth generation technology has the name Long Term Evolution (LTE). Most major mobile carriers in the United States and several worldwide carriers have announced plans to convert their networks to LTE beginning in 2009. LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) which will be introduced in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8. Much of 3GPP Release 8 will focus on adopting 4G mobile communications technology, including an all-IP flat networking architecture.

Verizon selected Boston and Seattle for the tests because of the cities’  geography, mix of urban and suburban areas, and their large high-tech populations. Verizon is using the 700 MHz spectrum it bought an FCC auction to build their new 4G network, according to a CNET story. It plans to start offering the service commercially in 2010, providing wireless service for as many as 100 million people in 30 markets. From that beginning, Verizon plans to have the entire nation covered with 4G service in 2013.

During this initial test, Verizon has just ten cell sites operating in each city. The company has already proven that the new technology has significant speed advantages over the older 3G networks. Actual service speeds have not yet been selected, but Verizon has said that the LTE service could be as much as 100 times faster than it’s 3G technology.

Of course, Verizon is not alone in  getting ready to offer 4G services. One competing 4G technology, named Wimax, is already being tested by Clearwire in Atlanta, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Portland, Ore., and plans are afoot to add another 10 cities over the next few months. Both Comcast and Sprint Nextel are already reselling this new technology in the markets where it has been tested.

The new 4G mobile services will clearly be a boon for both telephone and data services, but mainly for the latter. At the speeds possible with both LTE and Clearwire, we are clearly moving into a new age of wireless mobile broadband. That is exactly what is needed for smartphones, the fastest growing segment of mobile handset sales. These more versatile, data-hungry phones are moving into the mainstream at exactly the right time in the history of wireless service technology.

Related:

Entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 6:11 pm under Cell phones, Internet, Technology.

Read more entries by Michael W. Jones.
Stumble It!