Verizon Wireless Seeks Out Partners For LTE Expansion Into Rural Areas

Verizon keeps making a push into the future with the building up of their LTE network, but obviously it can't just be a sole effort on their part. Even if they are the largest wireless carrier in the States, they'll need some help if they want to cover everyone they want to cover. That's exactly why they're reaching out to find partners right now, looking for anyone who might want to jump on board the LTE bandwagon. Because you can't have a full blanket if you don't include rural America, too.

In order to provide access to this 4G LTE network to more of the U.S. population living in rural areas, Verizon Wireless plans to work with rural companies to collaboratively build and operate a 4G network in those areas using the tower and backhaul assets of the rural company and Verizon Wireless' core LTE equipment and 700MHz spectrum.

As Verizon puts it on their website, Verizon plans to help the rural company that works with them to deploy their own next-generation wireless coverage. That'll go a long way for those rural carriers, seeing as they won't be left high-and-dry after all their assistance. Plus, it means their own customers will be able to take in the goodness that is 4G.

On the plus side though, Verizon is willing to work with companies that aren't wireless carriers. So basically, they'll take all of the help they can get. Which is good, because while we're sure that Verizon will be able to get to their goal of 30 major markets covered by the end of 2010, it'll take an extra few pushes to make sure that its existing 3G network is covered by the end of 2012. We'll welcome the use of 4G by any means, by any companies out there that want to provide it, so we'll count this as good news.

[via Verizon Wireless]