Verizon continues industry-leading LTE Advanced network deployments

BASKING RIDGE, NJ - Verizon continues to aggressively deploy the latest 4G LTE Advanced technologies that provide significantly faster peak data speeds and capacity for customers.

Verizon customers in more than 2,000 markets can access the benefits of carrier aggregation and those in 1,100 markets can access 4x4 MIMO (Massive Input, Massive Output) and 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) in addition to carrier aggregation. In combination, these three technologies drastically impact the capacity available for customers to use the Verizon network and the speed at which their data sessions are completed. 

These three advanced technologies hold the key to significantly greater efficiency/capacity gains and speed boosts on the LTE network.

• Carrier aggregation combines discreet bands of spectrum so data can flow between the bands more efficiently.
• 4x4 MIMO uses an increased number of antennas at the cell tower and on customers’ devices to minimize interference when transmitting data.
• 256 QAM enables customers’ devices and the network to exchange information in larger amounts delivering more bits of data in each transmission.

“Our customers experience the largest LTE coverage in the country, unrivaled service reliability and the most consistently fast speeds in the industry,” said Nicola Palmer, Chief Network Engineering Officer and Head of Wireless Networks. “We’ve done this through customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering, and consistent, strategic investment, continuing to deploy LTE Advanced technologies.”

Industry Network Milestones

Verizon’s network engineers have achieved a number of industry milestones/firsts:

• By combining licensed and unlicensed bands with 4-carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO and 256 QAM, Verizon achieved 953 Mbps in a real-world deployment in Florida.
• Verizon was the first carrier to deploy the first end-to-end use of band 48 CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) 3.5 GHz spectrum in an LTE Advanced carrier aggregation demonstration, greatly advancing work in emerging band.
• Verizon achieved another industry first with more than 1 Gbps speeds on our 4G LTE network along with partners Ericsson and Qualcomm
• The first trial of FDD Massive MIMO with a fully compatible customer device was completed on Verizon’s network improving both spectral efficiency and customer speeds.