Verizon LTE hitting Detroit area

Verizon Wireless has announced it is expanding the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G LTE network on Feb. 17 to cover more than 80 percent of the population in the metropolitan Detroit area, including the following cities and towns:

+ Allen Park
+ Birmingham
+ Bloomfield Hills
+ Bloomfield Township
+ Canton
+ Centerline
+ Clarkston
+ Clawson
+ Clinton Township
+ Dearborn
+ Dearborn Heights
+ Detroit
+ Drayton Plains
+ Eastpointe
+ Ecorse
+ Farmington
+ Farmington Hills
+ Ferndale
+ Franklin
+ Fraser
+ Garden City
+ Grosse Pointe
+ Grosse Pointe Farms
+ Grosse Pointe Park
+ Grosse Pointe Shores
+ Grosse Pointe Woods
+ Hamtramck
+ Harper Woods
+ Hazel Park
+ Highland Park
+ Huntington Woods
+ Inkster
+ Keego Harbor
+ Lathrup Village
+ Lincoln Park
+ Livonia
+ Macomb
+ Milford at the GM Proving Grounds
+ Mount Clemens
+ Melvindale
+ Northville
+ Novi
+ Oak Park
+ Pleasant Ridge
+ Pontiac
+ Redford
+ River Rouge
+ Riverview
+ Rochester
+ Rochester Hills
+ Romulus
+ Roseville
+ Royal Oak
+ Saint Clair Shores
+ Shelby Township
+ Southfield
+ Southgate
+ Sterling Heights
+ Taylor
+ Troy
+ Walled Lake
+ Warren
+ Washington
+ Wayne
+ West Bloomfield
+ Westland
+ Wyandotte

The expansion – the first since the company’s initial 4G LTE launch in December 2010 – means businesses and consumers may experience speeds up to 10 times faster than the company’s industry-leading 3G network. In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, laptop users experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.

“Metro Detroit: Welcome to the future,” said John Granby, president –Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless. “Our advanced technology is changing the way we all work and play. Today, it gives us the ability to move large files faster and soon enjoy smooth mobile video conferencing. But, this is only the beginning. It’s not about what 4G can do for you. Rather, it’s about what do you want or need it to do?”

Since 2007, when Verizon Wireless jump-started the global 4G LTE ecosystem with its selection of LTE for its 4G technology, the company has developed deep partnerships to spearhead a broad LTE ecosystem, including the LTE Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass., and an Application Innovation Center, soon to open in San Francisco.

In December 2010, Verizon Wireless launched its 4G LTE network in 38 major metropolitan markets and 60 commercial airports across the country as well as in parts of north Oakland and Macomb counties. Much of metro Detroit has been impacted by spectrum interference with a Canadian TV station that has since been resolved, allowing the company to make this significant early expansion.

The company’s 4G LTE network will cover two-thirds of the U.S. population by mid-2012, and by the end of 2013 the company will offer its 4G LTE network from coast to coast – everywhere it offers 3G today.