Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Verizon 4G LTE Tests Planned For Seattle, Boston

Posted by kdawson on from the finally-catching-up-to-802.11b dept.

suraj.sun writes "Verizon will kick off tests of its LTE network in Seattle and Boston later this year, and is 'working on a commercial launch of LTE service in up to 30 markets next year. LTE is Verizon's next-generation, '4G' network, which will supplement and eventually replace its existing CDMA network and provide average data speeds between 8-12 Mbps. Their ultimate goal is to cover 100 million 'points of presence' nationwide by the end of 2013."

6 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Canada getting 21bps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Here in Canada, we are tagged for getting HSPA+ with 21Mbps speeds:

    http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1555076

    Starting in August in Toronto, and spreading to other cities after that. I don't know that those Verizon speeds discussed are actually 4G speeds.

    1. Re:Canada getting 21bps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Verizon is advertising 8-12 average speed. LTE is in theory capable of doing 150Mbs

      Have they upgraded the network as well?

      It doesn't matter if you're connected to the tower at 100Gb/s if the tower is only connected by a single T-1.

      Right now, even 3G is saturating what little pipe they have available to the tower.

    2. Re:Canada getting 21bps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      No, Verizon utilizes a fiber backbone for all sites. So it is all Gig-E.

  2. Latency? by mcrbids · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Connection speed is almost always rated in Mbps - but that's only half the equation. What about latency?

    I have a cellular wireless card that works well enough to enable the 'digital nomad' lifestyle mentioned earlier today, but to say that it's a joy to have latency that bounces between 150ms and 1500ms is taking sarcasm to its extreme.

    More than the bandwidth, I want to know if the sub-50 ms ping times I see on a DSL or other 'land line' are going to be likely? Seems lame that transmitting a packetized radio signal for about 2 miles introduces more latency than the other 3,000 miles over fiber optics.

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  3. So What About Handsets And Cards? by rsmith-mac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If Verizon is getting ready to build a partial network to do testing, where does this put the development and production of the necessary chipsets?

    The last I heard, the LTE chipsets necessary for high-power devices (laptop cards, etc) were not expected before late 2010. Chipsets for low-power devices (phones) were a couple of years farther out - 2012 or later. Has this changed, or is this still the right timetable?

    It's cool that Verizon is building a LTE network, but if we're years away from having devices that can use it, I guess I don't see the point of it or why everyone is so excited.

  4. Utility by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This will only be useful if they do something about those horrible 5 gig caps. HIgher speeds entices people to do more bandwidth intensive activities on their iPhones. It would also be nice if the FCC punished AT&T and Verizon for charging HUGE markups on their special access lines, raising the price of wireless services for everyone in the US.