Marquette, Michigan, is 400th 4G LTE Market From Verizon Wireless

MARQUETTE, Mich., Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless has chosen Marquette, Mich., as its symbolic 400^th 4G LTE market because it represents the growth of the nation's largest 4G LTE network beyond America's largest and medium range cities and helps to expand its reach to every corner of the United States.

Not familiar with Marquette?  Need some nuggets of knowledge about Michigan's Upper Peninsula?  Here are some fun facts and trivia about the Upper Peninsula's most populated city.

Getting to Know Marquette

• Marquette, Mich., is located in the north central area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and on the southern shores of Lake Superior, the northernmost of the Great Lakes.
• It has a population of approximately 21,000 people.
• Marquette is home to Northern Michigan University and its 9,400 students.  The university's colors are Forest Green and Old Gold.  Its mascot is Wildcat Willy.
• Marquette is about a three hour drive to the Upper Peninsula's eastern border with Canada and the town of Sault Ste. Marie, and a three and a half hour drive south to the closest larger city, Green Bay, Wis., a city with a population of more than 100,000.
• From a geographic size perspective, the Upper Peninsula contains 29 percent of Michigan's land mass but only 3 percent of its population.
• In the mid-19th century, the city and region began to grow in population based on growth in the area's rich iron mining industry.
• Marquette got its name on Aug. 21, 1850, to honor French missionary Jacques Marquette who had explored the region 200 years earlier.
• The city, which covers just less than 20 miles, averages about 150 inches of snow every year – that's more than 12 feet of snow.  Its average high temperature is 51 degrees and average low temperature is 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The city is home to the world's largest wooden dome, the Superior Dome.  The second largest, just one foot smaller, is located in Japan.  The Superior Dome is affectionately known as the Yooper Dome.  Yooper is the term given to those from the Upper Peninsula.
• It was recently named by "CBS MoneyWatch" as one of the 10 Best Places to Retire in the United States.
• Verizon Wireless service was first made available in Marquette in 2009 when the company acquired Alltel.  In November of that year, the company opened its first store in Marquette and continued to work on expanding its network across the Upper Peninsula, activating 43 new cell sites that year alone.
• In addition to Marquette, Verizon also has stores in Escanaba, Houghton and Iron Mountain – all Upper Peninsula markets.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network and a list of current markets.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 94.2 million retail customers, including 88.8 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 78,000 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.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless