Verizon Wireless today announced its rollout plans for its new 4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The network, which will officially launch on December 5, will offer service to 38 major metropolitan areas in the U.S.—as well as supplemental coverage at major airports—and download speeds of five to 12 megabits per second, with upload speeds of two to 5 Mbps.
The new network will initially be available only to those using one of two USB modems with 3G backward compatibility; Verizon is pricing data service at $50/mo. for 5GB of data or $80/mo.
for 10GB of data with a $10/GB overage fee. Notably, Verizon says it expects consumer-oriented phones to be available in mid-2011, essentially ruling out LTE for any potential iPhone launch earlier in the year.
