AT&T (T) is doing its best to catch up with Verizon’s (VZ) LTE coverage. The carrier on Friday announced that it has added several new markets to its LTE coverage footprint and that it now covers more than 150 million Americans. Among the new markets added Friday were Mobile, Ala., Columbus, Ohio, Portland, Maine and Charleston, S.C. Earlier this week, AT&T also announced that it had expanded its LTE coverage into major markets Milwaukee and Denver. The carrier says that it’s on target to cover 250 million Americans with its LTE network by the end of 2013 and 300 million by the end of 2014. AT&T’s full press release is posted below.
AT&T 4G LTE Coverage Doubled In 2012
DALLAS, Nov. 16, 2012 /NEWS.GNOM.ES/ — AT&T*4G LTE now covers more than 150 million people across the United States. The coverage is more than double AT&T’s 4G LTE coverage at the end of 2011, with still more expansion planned through the end of the year.
AT&T plans to expand 4G LTE to 250 million people by year-end 2013 and to 300 million by year-end 2014. AT&T 4G LTE is in 103 markets today.
AT&T’s 4G LTE network delivered faster average download speeds than any other carrier in PCWorld‘s most recent 13-market speed tests. Even as AT&T continues to expand its 4G LTE coverage, customers can still get 4G speeds outside of 4G LTE areas on the nation’s largest 4G network, unlike competitors, whosesmartphone customers fall back to slower 3G technologies when outside of LTE coverage.
Telecommunications industry analyst firm Frost and Sullivan has recognized AT&T with its 2012 North American Mobile Network Strategy Award for the second year in a row. AT&T received the award for its rapid, broad and simultaneous deployment of high-speed 4G LTE and 4G HSPA+ technologies.
AT&T 4G LTE is part of the nation’s largest 4G network, which covers more than 285 million people and 3,000 more 4G cities and towns than Verizon.
