Verizon Makes 4G LTE A Requirement For Upcoming Phones

Verizon's introduced a number of shiny new gadgets in the past week or so at CES, and as I'm sure many folks noticed, nearly every one was packing 4G LTE connectivity. That's no coincidence, as the carrier has told CNET that 4G support is "a hard requirement" for future devices. That means that almost every smartphone, tablet and hotspot that we see going forward should include LTE, although an exception to that will be Verizon's push-to-talk products. Don't think that this means that Verizon will be exclusively sticking with Android and iPhone, though, as Keith Lampron, Verizon's associate director of device marketing, said that the carrier intends to support Windows Phone in the future as well.

Major smartphone manufacturers have been coming out with new models left and right and 4G LTE appears to be a staple among their list of new features, so conforming with the network’s requirement isn’t much of a problem.

This news isn't a total surprise considering how aggressively Verizon has been in building out its 4G LTE network and picking up spectrum to support that network as of late. Of course, Verizon's requirement may not be terribly exciting for anyone that's not quite ready to make the jump to a 4G device, but it sounds like those folks may not be able to avoid LTE for much longer.

Aside from reiterating the 4G requirement for smartphones, Verizon Wireless’ CTO, David Small, also said that the company is actively pushing its network to many areas. Verizon is looking to have up to 400 areas covered by 4G LTE by the end of the year from the 200-plus currently in service.

Verizon 4G LTE Network Speed Test: