Dec. 1, 2010 at 12:55 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology,
Telecommunications
By Wailin Wong
Verizon Wireless senior technician Jim Harper works at a switching center in Los Angeles on Oct. 18, 2010. The company and other major cellular providers have spent billions to build 4G networks. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
Verizon Wireless is going live with its new 4G network in Chicago and 37 other cities on Sunday, the carrier said Wednesday.
The network will deliver speeds between 5 and 12 megabits per second, representing a tenfold increase in speed from Verizon’s current 3G network, Tony Melone, Verizon’s chief technical officer, said in a conference call. On the 4G network, a user can download a 10-megabyte presentation in less than 10 seconds or download 20 photos in 60 seconds, Melone said.
Clearwire, Sprint and Comcast began offering 4G services in Chicago on Clearwire’s network about a year ago. T-Mobile announced the local launch of its 4G network at the beginning of November. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Chicago is one of the 38 cities that will be included in Verizon Wireless’ launch of its 4G network later this year, the operator said Wednesday.
Verizon, which will use a fourth-generation network technology called Long-Term Evolution, said its Chicagoland network will extend from the Wisconsin border, to Tinley Park and Homer Glen to Lake Zurich, Hoffman Estates and Bolingbrook. Lake Michigan will form the network’s eastern border. Get the full story »