Verizon Wireless looking at rural carriers for 4G expansion

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdams confirmed that the wireless carrier is considering rural carriers as a means of expanding its 4G network. Under this plan, Verizon Wireless would license its 4G spectrum for a small fee to rural operators who could then re-sell the service. Either Verizon or the operator would assume the cost of building out the network and each would benefit from the agreement – Verizon would get a wider 4G footprint and the rural carrier would receive local mobile broadband coverage and a roaming agreement for coverage outside of its home network. Folks with more deer than people should not jump for joy quite yet as McAdams confirms that this is a low profit initiative for Verizon and, as such, may take a while to roll out. Nonetheless, those whose only option for broadband is still 56K dial up would agree that late is better than never.

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