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Aug. 19, 2009

Late yesterday, Verizon Wireless confirmed it has completed its first successful LTE data calls in Boston and Seattle. Verizon's LTE technology is based on the 3GPP Release 8 standard.

The company's announcement comes amid rumors that the wireless carrier could be "courting" some high-profile devices from Apple.

Recent rumors that are increasingly gaining credibility could potentially place an iPhone and an Apple tablet PC on Verizon’s network sometime next year.

An LTE-capable network offered by Verizon would negate the need for Apple to create a CDMA version of its iPhone, as AT&T is also moving to that technology.

There's no doubt that Verizon wants the iPhone business that AT&T is getting, thanks to its exclusive reselling contract with Apple. But that contract expires in 2010 and nobody knows for now if Apple will still give AT&T exclusive rights when the contract will be up for renewal.

Verizon Wireless said the successful data calls involved streaming video, file uploads and downloads, Internet browsing and voice transmissions using VoIP.

The data calls were all made over the 700 Mhz spectrum in Boston and Seattle. In both locations, the calls were executed on commercial infrastructure platforms.

The wireless carrier said it had enlisted the help of Alcatel-Lucent in Boston and Ericsson in Seattle for base station/radio access network. Additionally, LG and Samsung provided trial devices, and Starent Networks and Nokia Networks provided network equipment.

Wireless devices from LG and Samsung will soon be supplemented by devices from ST-Ericsson, Motorola and Qualcomm.

Boston and Seattle each now have 10 LTE 4G cell sites up and running on the 700 MHz spectrum.

For now, Verizon certainly isn’t commenting on Apple device rumors. However, wireless industry observers say Verizon may be hurrying its rollout of LTE in an effort to avoid the plight of AT&T, which has been receiving its share of criticism for rolling out the iPhone on a 3G network that simply wasn’t ready for the device’s high-bandwidth demands.

Early next year, Verizon Wireless expects to commercially launch its LTE 4G network in up to thirty markets, and covering over 100 million people.

The mobile service carrier has promised full 4G coverage in the U.S. by 2013 at the very latest.

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Source: Verizon Wireless.