LTE

Short for Long Term Evolution, LTE appears to be the fourth-generation (4G) standard for mobile broadband services. It provides speeds far faster than 3G, and it transfers data in a more efficient manner. MetroPCS was the first US carrier to offer services over LTE, in September, 2010. Verizon Wireless followed shortly thereafter. AT&T has announced plans for an LTE network, and it appears that T-Mobile and Sprint will follow suit in short order.

In the LTE category we’ll cover the still-young platform and how companies are approaching it. The decisions they make today will affect how much you pay for your service, and how much data you can consume.

Verizon plans to license 4G network to small carriers

May 13, 2010

Part of the problem with broadband is delivering it to small, rural markets. Wireless, then, might be the solution. Without the need to run millions of dollars worth of cable to a sparsely populated area, carriers can simply deliver the signal through wireless towers. Yet there’s still a problem there, in that small carriers do [...]

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How far away is LTE?

January 23, 2010

For the past few years we’ve heard cell phone carriers tout the virtues of LTE to us. Most of them have hopped on the bandwagon, and Verizon claims they’ll have North America’s first LTE network running early this year. We haven’t heard many specifics from their testing, but we did hear something about TeliaSonera’s LTE [...]

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Verizon hints at usage-based pricing for LTE network

January 13, 2010

The prospect of a fourth-generation network and the opportunities it can bring to modern technology has excited many. Verizon Wireless plans to launch the nation’s first commercial LTE 4G network this year, which could kickstart a wave of products developed with Internet capabilities. In fact, that’s what Verizon plans to do. They want third-party developers [...]

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Verizon successfully test LTE connections

August 14, 2009

It seemed that Verizon was getting a bit aggressive when it projected launching LTE in 30 markets next year. There’s just so much that needs to happen between then and now, but once against we’re reminded that when Big Red has the competition in its crosshairs, do not underestimate them. As a sign that things [...]

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LTE forecasting: 100 million users by 2014

July 17, 2009

The first text LTE markets are just a few months away, so it’s natural that we’d see some forecasting on how many people will adopt the platform. It would seem a lot, since major carriers AT&T and Verizon will go with that standard. DSL Reports brings us two such forecasts. Juniper Research thinks there will [...]

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Will carriers face voice issues with LTE?

May 22, 2009

We know the potential of LTE when it comes to data services — it’s our bread and butter. However, voice issues have become a concern. Why is this relevant to the data end? It could cause carriers to rethink how they’re going to roll out LTE networks. As we’re seeing in Europe, T-Mobile and Orange [...]

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LTE expected to grow rapidly after deployment

May 20, 2009

With test markets for LTE technology right around the bend, there has been an increasing level of hype recently. LTE enthusiasts beam about the technology’s potential, citing speed and coverage of network as two factors which give it an edge unlike other technology. Clearly, they’re trying to put it in a position where it demolishes [...]

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Verizon nudges LTE back a bit

May 14, 2009

Yes, Verizon still plans to roll out their LTE network in 2010. The only difference is in the specific timing. CEO Lowell McAdam expects his company to get the service up and running in some markets by the second half of the year, rather than early on. The long-term outlook for a nationwide build-out still [...]

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