Verizon promises 4G wireless for rural America

The new 4G wireless broadband network that Verizon Wireless plans to launch in 2010 could be rural America's answer to its broadband access prayers. But extending the network to every nook and cranny in the U.S. will likely take years.
Tony Melone, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Verizon Wireless, said during an interview at the CTIA Wireless 2009 tradeshow here Wednesday that the new 4G network that the company is building will blanket the entire continental United States, including the far corners of rural America.
"The licenses we bought in the 700MHz auction cover the whole U.S.," Melone said. "And we plan to roll out LTE throughout the entire country, including places where we don't offer our CDMA cell phone service today."
The result has been small towns and communities throughout the country that still have no access to high-speed Internet services. These communities have been stuck in dial-up limbo, waiting for the 21st century technology revolution to reach them. It's made it harder for businesses to grow and compete in the increasingly connected and tech savvy market. It's meant that workers have had a harder time finding jobs. And it's left an entire population less connected to important news and information that is increasingly found online. Melone said that the spectrum Verizon acquired in last year's Federal Communications Commission's auction is ideally suited to help solve this problem. The spectrum that is being used to build the new network is in the 700 MHz band. Up until now, it has been used to broadcast analog TV.
Melone said it's too early to say if Verizon will request money from the government as part of the package to fund building its network in rural communities. But he said that with or without government money, Verizon is committed to providing service in rural areas via its 4G network.