Move over AT&T: Verizon expands LTE to 29 new markets

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will extend its 4G LTE service to 29 new markets before the year is over.

Verizon appears to be bolstering its LTE coverage for the New Year. The wireless network provider announced on Thursday that it has added 29 new LTE markets to its service.

Some of these markets that are now covered by Verizon’s LTE network include Selma, Ala., and Port Angeles, Wash. among many others. With these newly added areas, Verizon can now boast that it offers LTE service in 470 markets across the country. The company will also expand its LTE coverage in 36 of its existing markets, which means that it will now bring speedy Internet services to more than 250 million people.

This announcement comes just days after rival carrier AT&T revealed that it added LTE coverage to five more cities, bringing its total coverage count to 125 cities. These new markets include Green Bay, Wis., Springfield, Mass., Melbourne, Fla., and Oxford, Miss. Of course, Verizon as been quick to point out this vast difference in LTE coverage, which amounts to nearly four times the number of markets AT&T brings LTE service to. However, AT&T argues that its connection is faster.

According to a study that examined various carrier networks, Consumer Reports ranked AT&T as having the best 4G LTE network of any other US-based mobile provider. While this may be true, AT&T was voted as the worst carrier in the United States in the same report. Verizon placed as number four in terms of the best carriers in the country, and AT&T brought up the rear in seventh.

But still, today’s announcement further proves that Verizon wins when it comes to availability.  Earlier this year, the company set a goal for launching 400 fully functional LTE markets by the end of 2012. Verizon is well over its predetermined goal and reached this 400 benchmark two moths ahead of schedule.

Verizon currently offers 27 smartphones that feature 4G LTE connectivity in its online store. These include mid-range devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere 2, to high-end products like Apple’s iPhone 5. AT&T is stocked with a similar variety of 4G LTE enabled devices. From Windows Phone 8 handsets like the Lumia 920 to Apple and Android smartphones, users have 30 devices to choose from.