Verizon to use cable company spectrum to boost LTE network by late 2013

Verizon (VZ) plans to use the AWS spectrum it acquired from a consortium of cable companies in the second half of 2013. The company’s CTO, Nicola Palmer, revealed in an interview with Fierce Wireless that the carrier will complete its LTE rollout on the 700MHz spectrum by mid-year, and plans to expand its LTE coverage with 5,000 new sites in 2013, with more to follow in 2014. The current generation of Verizon LTE devices won’t be able to utilize the network, however, and Verizon plans to offer AWS-compatible devices before July. The executive also reiterated the company’s plans to launch its VoLTE service by the end of this year or early next year.