Verizon officially launches 4G LTE in Triangle today

Today Verizon Wireless officially launches its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the Triangle.

VZW says the high speed wireless network covers the areas of Cary, Durham, Apex, Clayton, Morrisville, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Wake Forest, Garner, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Gorman, Smithfield and of course Raleigh.

Using the FCC's app for network speed testing, I've seen download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 6 Mbps consistently on a Samsung Droid Charge (up from 5 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 Mbps earlier this morning). Early adopters have had open, but unofficial access to the network a few days early.

Currently, Verizon has several devices capable of using LTE which are backwards compatible with their 3G service. There are three smartphones: HTC ThunderBolt,  LG Revolution and the Samsung Droid Charge. The carrier also has several hotspot devices and a USB modem that connect to the 4G service. The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet is also LTE capable. Buyers of the previously released Motorola Xoom have been promised LTE upgrades.

Verizon Wireless has already activated LTE in the Fayetteville-Lumberton, Wilmington and Charlotte areas in N.C.. The Asheville area will be added later to complete coverage in North Carolina.

In addition, Verizon says 58 new cell sites have been added in the Raleigh-Durham area to improve coverage.

4G LTE Markets as of July 21, 2011

Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network will be available in 102 areas as of today:

· Decatur, Ala.
· Huntsville, Ala.
· Mobile, Ala.
· Montgomery, Ala.
· Phoenix, Ariz.
· Fresno, Calif.
· Los Angeles, Calif.
· Oakland, Calif.
· San Diego, Calif.
· San Francisco, Calif.
· San Jose, Calif.
· Sacramento, Calif.
· Colorado Springs, Colo.
· Denver, Colo.
· Greater Fairfield and New Haven, Conn.
· Hartford, Conn.
· Washington, D.C.
· Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
· Gainesville, Fla.
· Jacksonville, Fla.
· Lakeland, Fla.
· Miami, Fla.
· Orlando, Fla.
· Pensacola, Fla.
· Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
· Tallahassee, Fla.
· Tampa, Fla.
· West Palm Beach, Fla.
· Athens, Ga.
· Atlanta, Ga.
· Augusta, Ga.
· Hilo, Hawaii
· Honolulu, Hawaii
· Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii
· Lahaina, Hawaii
· Boise, Idaho
· Carbondale, Ill.
· Chicago, Ill.
· Fort Wayne, Ind.
· Indianapolis, Ind.
· West Lafayette, Ind.
· Wichita, Kan.
· Louisville, Ky.
· Baton Rouge, La.
· Hammond, La.
· New Orleans, La.
· Baltimore, Md.
· Boston, Mass.
· Springfield, Mass.
· Detroit, Mich.
· Flint, Mich.
· Grand Rapids, Mich.
· Lansing, Mich.
· Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
· St. Louis, Mo.
· Las Vegas, Nev.
· New York, N.Y.
· Rochester, N.Y.
· Charlotte, N.C.
· Fayetteville-Lumberton, N.C.
· Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.
· Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
· Wilmington, N.C.
· Akron, Ohio
· Cincinnati, Ohio
· Cleveland, Ohio
· Columbus, Ohio
· Dayton, Ohio
· Toledo, Ohio
· Oklahoma City, Okla.
· Tulsa, Okla.
· Portland, Ore.
· Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, Pa.
· Erie, Pa.
· Harrisburg, Pa.
· Philadelphia, Pa.
· Pittsburgh, Pa.
· Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
· State College, Pa.
· Charleston, S.C.
· Columbia, S.C.
· Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
· Hilton Head, S.C.
· Sioux Falls, S.D.
· Chattanooga, Tenn.
· Clarksville, Tenn./Hopkinsville, Ky.
· Cleveland, Tenn.
· Knoxville, Tenn.
· Nashville, Tenn.
· Bryan-College Station, Texas
· Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
· Houston, Texas
· San Antonio, Texas
· Temple-Killeen, Texas
· Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
· Olympia, Wash.
· Seattle, Wash.
· Spokane, Wash.
· Tacoma, Wash.
· Charleston, W.Va.
· Madison, Wis.
· Milwaukee, Wis.