Rise of The 4G LTE Technology in the U.S.

Until recently, existing mobile networks across the United States have been relying entirely on 3G/UMTS technology, which is now 10 years old and clambering to cope with the needs of data hungry users. Ahead of that lies the 4G/LTE (Fourth Generation / Long Term Evolution) network, which is the next stage in mobile network development and provides users with much faster data speeds than 3G.

LTE networks have been live in the U.S. since 2010, and each of the four Tier 1 carriers now covers at least 250 million LTE POPs, with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility each covering at least 300 million people. However, it is interesting to note how LTE coverage in the U.S. has evolved over time. Mosaik Solutions has worked on a report tracking the rise of the new age 4G/LTE technology and its adoption by the major carriers in the U.S.

As per the intelligence agency, when MetroPCS was kicking off its first LTE networks in the third quarter of 2010, only 7.5 percent of the U.S. population was covered by LTE. When Verizon launched its initial 38 LTE networks in the fourth quarter of 2010, the total aggregate LTE coverage in the U.S. increased to 39.3 percent of the population. And further on, that figure boomed speedily.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, 67.4 percent of the entire U.S. population was covered by an LTE network. The growth was so phenomenal that by the end of 2012, 90.3 percent of the population was under the LTE umbrella, still with large chunks of the country in the Midwest and Rock Mountain region not covered by LTE.

Even that changed over the course of 2013, and by the end of 2013, 98.4 percent of the U.S. population was covered by an LTE network. Deployments dribbled in after that, and as of the end of the third quarter, as much as 99.3 percent of the U.S. population was covered by LTE service from one carrier or another.