Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    Verizon Admits LTE Network Bogging Down in Cities: Report

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    November 13, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Verizon CFO Fran Shammo says the carrier’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) network is starting to feel the crush of users’ growing data habits.

      Shammo spoke to investors at the Wells Fargo 2013 Tech, Media and Telecom Conference in New York Nov. 12. Cnet was first to report the rare acknowledgment that the nation’s largest LTE network is anything but endlessly robust.

      “There are certain pockets where we’re absolutely going to experience that downtick from the LTE network down to 3G because of capacity constraints,” Shammo said, according to Cnet.

      Verizon’s wireless network is feeling most pressured in big cities, said Shammo, including New York and San Francisco.

      During Verizon’s Oct. 21 earnings call, Shammo said that Verizon is continuing to build out its LTE network, which is now in 165 markets, covering 186 million people.

      “With additional markets planned in November and December, we are actually ahead of schedule and have already exceeded our year-end target of 185 million [people],” Shammo said during the earnings call.

      He added that 52 percent of the carrier’s new retail postpaid devices were 4G LTE smartphones—up from 30 percent the quarter before—and that Verizon sold 1.4 million LTE devices during the third quarter.

      Shammo also celebrated the move of more customers from its 3G to 4G networks.

      “If you look at our Internet devices, about 95 percent are all now 4G LTE, and that’s a big deal for us, because that means we are now moving high-end users on MiFi and dongles off of the 3G network on to 4G, which obviously frees up spectrum and reduces our capital expense,” he told analysts.

      At the Wells Fargo conference, Shammo insisted that the build-outs still to come this year will help ease the strain. “By the end of this year, you are going to see all those issues dissipate,” he said, adding that in 2014, Verizon will be “ahead of the curve again.”

      Mobile Traffic Growth

      Verizon isn’t alone in seeing data consumption figures rise.

      Mobile data traffic rose 10 percent between just the second and third quarters of 2013 and rose 80 percent between the second quarters of 2012 and 2013, Ericsson said in its latest Mobility Report. By 2019, it forecasts mobile data traffic to increase to 10 times the current figure.

      The primary driver of this growth will be video. Video traffic is expected to grow 55 percent annually through the end of 2019 and then account for more than 50 percent of global mobile traffic.

      Ericsson also found data use to vary by smartphone operating systems.

      “The largest average traffic volumes per subscription are measured on Android smartphones that use up to an average of 2.2GB per month,” said the report. iOS devices were found to use an average closer to 1.7GB each month, followed by Windows Phone devices, at 1.5GB.

      More than 50 percent of the smartphones Verizon sold during the third quarter were Android, while 35 percent were iPhones.

      Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×