CTIA: Verizon LTE Ready to Take on Clearwire

Beyond the Handset

If there’s one thing we know about the future of wireless, it’s that it will likely hinge on more and more connected devices coming to market. Witness the 3G-enabled Amazon Kindle 2 eReader, or the Nintendo DSi adding the Opera Web browser to its Wi-Fi interface, giving it much more functionality than gaming alone.

Meanwhile, Seidenberg said that Verizon’s enterprise business and landline phone businesses are feeling pressure, but there’s growth in video, Internet and wireless. He noted that Nielsen Research finds that consumers spend five hours per day watching television, one hour surfing the Web and 26 minutes using their mobile phones. All of that translates into a nice opportunity for next-generation wireless, since LTE is capable of supporting a range of video and Internet-capable consumer electronics with wireless embedded. "If we can get even a modest amount more of that use to mobile, we have more than enough room to grow," Seidenberg said.

In fact, Verizon envisions a probable “500 percent penetration,” Seidenberg said: Essentially, every person would own or use multiple connected devices, everything from smart health monitors to automobiles. “There will be no limit on the number of connections as part of the mobile grid,” Seidenberg said. “Everything has the potential to be connected to the Web.”

Already, the Kindle-esque idea of offering excess capacity to consumer electronics makers is a growing trend. Tony Lewis, who heads the connected devices initiative within Verizon Wireless, said at CTIA that five eReader companies have approached Verizon for embedded connectivity. "You're going to see a lot of e-readers out there," Lewis said. "The interest level is tremendous."

In short, 4G holds much promise for the carrier, and Seidenberg summed up Verizon’s hopes for LTE with this rosy statement: "In an economy that seems to have forgotten how to grow, the mobile industry keeps reminding us," he said.