Verizon’s 4G LTE coverage, the fastest 4G in the west, is coming to several new cities this week. Verizon made the announcement as a series of Twitter messages. The cities include Pensacola, FL; Mobile, AL; Denver, CO; Montgomery, AL; Gainesville, FL; Tallahassee, FL; Philadelphia, PA and more. The coverage officially begins on Thursday, May 19th.
The covered cities may be seeing occasional 4G LTE coverage now, but probably not a steady signal until Thursday. With the DROID Charge just released on Saturday, Verizon now has two 4G phones in its lineup. Back on April 27th, Verizon’s 4G LTE Network went down nationwide just a day before the Charge was to be released, and the Charge release was delayed for over two weeks.
There is no question that Verizon’s brand of 4G is the fastest, and our own Chris “Burnsy” Burns was impressed with the 4G performance when he did a review of the DROID Charge.
Press release:
4G Smartphones, Modems And Hot Spots Arrive On The Verizon Wireless LTE Network In Pensacola, Florida, On May 19
PENSACOLA, FL — Starting Thursday, Verizon Wireless customers in Pensacola will be able to surf the web, download files and share music and photos up to 10 times faster than before with Verizon Wireless’ 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.The network launches on May 19 and will be available to customers in the following cities and towns:
Pensacola, Fla.
“We are proud to help Pensacola residents, small businesses and local government connect faster and more fully with each other and those outside our community,” said Kay Henze, president of the Houston/Gulf Coast region for Verizon Wireless. “Our 4G LTE network is revolutionizing the way people communicate, and we know this connectivity will be a key communications and technology enabler for many years to come.”Smartphones, Hotspots and Laptop Modems
Residents of Pensacola can choose from an array of devices that have already launched to access the blazingly fast speeds of the 4G LTE network, including:
Just introduced on Saturday, the DROID Charge by Samsung features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED™ Plus display, a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for both stills and video chatting, Android 2.2 platform, 1 GHz application processor, HTML 5 Web browser and Mobile Hotspot capability that lets customers share the 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices or the 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Available for $299.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
ThunderBolt™ by HTC smartphone is powered by Android™ 2.2 and has an 8-megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording, 1.3-megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities, newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor and Mobile Hotspot capability that lets customers share the 4G LTE connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Available for $249.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510L and the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-LC11 let customers share the 4G LTE internet connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the same time. Each available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE USB Modem 551L comes equipped with a fold-out USB connector, a four color LED Service Status Indicator and an internal antenna. Available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
The LG VL600 4G LTE modem comes equipped with a fixed USB connector, an LED Service Status Indicator and an internal antenna. Available for $99.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
Pantech’s UML290 USB modem comes equipped with a fold-away, 180 degree rotating USB connector, an LED Service Status Indicator and a internal antenna. Available for $49.99 after discounts with a new 2-year customer agreement.
CoverageIn real-world, fully-loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink, so customers in the Pensacola area can enjoy the fast speeds of the world’s first large-scale 4G LTE network. Verizon Wireless began introducing the globe’s first large-scale LTE network on December 5, 2010, covering more than 110 million Americans, and is quickly expanding national coverage. In addition to expanding five new markets, the company is adding nine new markets this week, for a total of 55 metropolitan areas covered. The company is rapidly building out its 4G LTE network, and is on course to deliver 4G LTE to its entire 3G wireless footprint by the end of 2013. In addition, the company is working with rural communications companies to collaboratively build and operate a 4G network in those areas using the tower and backhaul assets of the rural company and Verizon Wireless’ core 4G LTE equipment and premium 700 MHz spectrum.
When customers travel outside of a 4G coverage area, the devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast. Verizon Wireless’ 3G network is the most reliable network in the country, allowing customers with laptops and smartphones to download and use cool apps, from mobile social networking platforms to GPS-enabled maps, rapidly browse the web to keep up with news, sports, stock quotes, Hollywood gossip and more, work on-the-go with fast file sharing and stream must-see video and customized radio stations.
4G LTE Data Plans, Promotions and Local Store Information
With the DROID Charge by Samsung and the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an Unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.
4G LTE Mobile Broadband plans for the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4510, Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-LC11, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE USB Modem 551L, LG VL600 4G LTE modem and Pantech UML290 USB modem begin at $50 monthly access for 5 GB of data. Data usage can be tracked by logging on to My Verizon online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.
Droid Charge unboxing video:
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