Verizon Wireless adds 15 new 4G LTE markets

Today, August 18, Verizon Wireless activated 15 new 4G LTE markets.  The addition of these markets brings Verizon Wireless coverage to just over half of the population of the United States.

Verizon introduced its 4G LTE network just eight months ago, so this makes pretty good progress in reaching over half the population.  The new wireless markets that now have 4G LTE are listed below.

Arizona: the city of Tuscon.   Arkansas has three cities: Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale.; California has an additional four cities: Bakersfield, Monterey, Salinas and Seaside.

Three more states adding the LTE coverage are: Fort Collins, Colorado; Frederick, Maryland; and Worcester, Massachusetts.  Omaha, Nebraska, famous for its steaks now can brag about its fast 4G access.

Verizon has added another area to my home state of Pennsylvania by heating up Altoona and Johnston.  Iowa’s Council Bluffs area now has 4G coverage along with the Albany, Ithaca and Syracuse, In New York.  Memphis, Tennessee and Provo, Utah finish up the new markets.

This brings the number of cities that now have Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE to 117.  They plan to add more areas to cover an additional 25 million people by the end of this year which should bring the number of people to 185 million.

The currently have three smartphone handsets that can take advantage of the new higher speeds: the Revolution, the DROID Charge and the Thunderbolt 4G.  Two 4G Hotspots and two 4G modems are also available.

Finally the Galaxy Tab and two netbooks/notebooks round out their 4G offerings.

David Small, CTO of Verizon Wireless said “In eight short months we’ve introduced our 4G LTE network to more than half of the U.S. population, while continuing to offer the nation’s most reliable 3G network coast to coast.  This matters to millions of Americans because they can take advantage of faster 4G LTE speeds both at home and when they travel throughout the country – today and in many more markets to come this year.  Each new market and expansion is significant as it brings us closer to delivering on the promise to bring our 4G LTE network to more than 185 million Americans by the end of 2011.”