Conterra Broadband Providing Hybrid Backhaul Transport In North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia for Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE Network

LAS VEGAS, CHARLOTTE, N.C., and BASKING RIDGE, N.J., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- From CTIA WIRELESS 2010®, Conterra Broadband Services ("Conterra") and Verizon Wireless announced today that Conterra's hybrid fiber/microwave network services are being used by Verizon Wireless to help build the nation's largest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.  

Conterra's transport networks support the huge volume of backhaul traffic enabled by new 3G and 4G LTE technologies and the new data-capable devices that have become commonplace among today's wireless mobility subscribers.  Conterra's deployments to support Verizon Wireless in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia offer both SONET/TDM and native Ethernet capability.

Conterra's hybrid networks provide fiber-level performance from end to end, even in rural areas where fiber is unavailable and carrier-grade microwave connections are required. Furthermore, Conterra's networks are designed to be easily upgraded and extended as Verizon Wireless has demonstrated frequently by expanding bandwidth needs and extending their data coverage into more rural areas.

"Verizon Wireless has been a key partner in Conterra's emergence as a trusted service provider in the U.S. backhaul market," noted Steve Leeolou, chairman and chief executive officer of Conterra.  "For more than three years, we have been providing high-quality, scalable network solutions to support the upgrading of Verizon Wireless' backhaul capabilities in the Southeast; and, based on our successful track record, we are now actively engineering customized transport services in other underserved parts of the country."

Nicola Palmer, Verizon Wireless network vice president, said, "Conterra's expertise in providing backhaul in less-populated areas is a perfect fit as we lay the groundwork to provide rural and small-town Americans with incredible new wireless broadband services with our 4G LTE network."

Verizon Wireless' LTE rollout plan positions the company as a global leader in 4G LTE deployment, and it is on track to deliver the nation's first 4G LTE network to customers in 25 to 30 markets, covering roughly 100 million people by year's end.  Verizon Wireless has been conducting trials in Boston and Seattle since August 2009 that have indicated that the network is capable of peak download speeds of 40 to 50 megabits per second (Mbps), peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 Mbps, and average data rates of 5 to 12 Mbps on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world environments.  The speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers' current or promised 3G network speeds.  

By leveraging its 700 MHz spectrum for LTE deployment in the United States, Verizon Wireless is capable of quickly deploying a high-quality wireless broadband network with excellent coverage and in-building penetration.  Verizon Wireless is currently installing LTE equipment at existing cell sites and switching centers around the United States as part of its extensive, ongoing investment in its voice and data network infrastructure.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network.  For more information about Conterra, visit www.conterra.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Conterra

Conterra Ultra Broadband Holdings, Inc. is a privately held, alternative access transport carrier that, through its subsidiaries, provides managed, fiber-class broadband solutions to approximately 1,000 commercial sites in 17 states supporting customers in the wireless mobility, K-12 school, healthcare and government sectors.  Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Conterra's executives have deep backgrounds in the cellular communications industry (including former top executives of one of America's first cellular operating companies, Vanguard Cellular Systems), as well as the CLEC and IT industries.  Additional information about Conterra is available at www.conterra.com, or by contacting our President & COO, Dennis Francis, at 717.368.9286 /[email protected] or our EVP, Corporate Development, Van Snowdon, at 704.936.1803/ [email protected].  

SOURCE Verizon Wireless