Verizon says it will have first LTE handset by next summer

Verizon CTO Anthony Melone says that the summer of 2011 will be when the carrier will launch its first LTE handset. That is 6 months earlier than Verizon had previously said to expect it to introduce a phone for the service. In some markets, Verizon will have LTE pipelines up and running before the end of this year and Melone says the carrier expects to have its first phone out 3 to 6 months after the service is launched. The nation's largest cellphone carrier has not hinted at which manufacturer will be the first to offer an LTE compatible device. That is the good news. The bad news is that Melone made some comments that indicate that Verizon is looking down the same tiered pricing road as AT&T is. The future is 4G and metered pricing while unlimited pricing and 3G service is the past.

source: WSJ via Engadget