Verizon LTE Update: ‘Friendly Trials’ this Summer, Real Service Later in 2010… and No Bricks
LAS VEGAS, NEV. — CTIA — When it comes to LTE devices, Verizon says it won’t be shipping any big fat bricks. But that was about the only definitive thing company exec Tony Melone would say about Verizon’s Long Term Evolution market plans in a appearance here at CTIA Tuesday morning.
Kicking off the Fierce Wireless Path to 4G sessions, Melone (Verizon’s executive VP and CTO for wireless operations) didn’t offer much beyond what the company had previously said about LTE, except to add that the company would stage “friendly user trials in a handful of markets” during the summer, with real market launches following “later in the year.”
After his prepared remarks, Melone had to quickly face up to the Fat Brick question — which he laughed off, adding that he was confident Verizon would ship quality LTE phone-type devices by mid-2011, and not mixtures of sand and cement. (We’ll try to get the exact quotes and some bad Internet video posted later tonight so check back)
