Who's Getting 4G LTE in 2013?

US Cellular and King Street Wireless have made the ultimate announcement: which market will receive the highly anticipated 4G LTE service in 2013.

According to a statement, “By the end of 2013, customers in more than 3,800 additional cities and towns will have access to 4G LTE speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G and similar to a cable Internet connection. Currently, 61 percent of U.S. Cellular customers have access to 4G LTE speeds and 87 percent are expected to be covered by the end of the year.”

4G LTE stands for fourth generation long term evolution - enabling an upgraded, enhanced wireless speed (and ultimately a user’s Internet experience) with “fast web browsing, smooth video streaming, video chatting with no buffering and speedy app downloads.”

According to the company, 4G LTE service will be launched in cities all over California, Kansas and Nebraska; existing 4G LTE service will be available to more cities throughout Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

In particular, the new 4G LTE network will arrive on the existing 3G data services that US Cellular customers have used previously. The company notes that it has the “highest call quality and network satisfaction of any national carrier,” and this network enhancement will likely extend those same customer ratings to other industries and providers.

As a device producer, US Cellular offers several 4G LTE devices. These include smartphones, tablets, hotspots, and wireless modems and routers.

The upgrade to 4G LTE in the United States means that the country will join much of the rest of the industrialized world that also uses similar network characteristics. Some of these countries include: Canada, Brazil, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, Scandinavia, Australia, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.