Basking Ridge, N.J. – Verizon Wireless is expanding the
number of 4G LTE devices that can roam in an expanded number of countries.
The carrier announced
May 24 availability of its second LTE-equipped USB modem with global roaming
capability and announced that four LTE Android smartphones will get
over-the-air updates sometime during the summer to give them global-roaming
capability.
The new USB modem is the ZTE-made Verizon Jetpack 890L,
announced at International CES and available May 24 in Verizon Wireless
Communications Stores and at
. The price is $19.99 with two-year
contract after a $50 mail-in rebate that takes the form of a debit card. The
device enables up to 10 Wi-Fi devices to share a cellular data connection.
The ZTE device joins the recently launched global-roaming
Novatel-made Jetpack 4620L USB modem.
Both USB modems can be used in more than 220 countries (and
in 125 countries at 3G speeds) thanks to the inclusion of EDGE and 3G HSPA+
data technologies in multiple bands. The devices also operate in 4G LTE model
in the U.S. 700MHz band and in 3G CDMA 1xEV-DO Rev. A mode in the U.S. and
foreign 800/1900MHz bands. Rev. A is also available in 40 foreign countries on
the 850/1900MHz bands. The countries include India and China.
To expand roaming capability to additional countries, the
USB modems incorporate GPRS/EDGE data in the 850/900/1800/1900MHz bands and 3G
HSPA+ data in the 850/900/1900/2100MHz bands.
The four LTE smartphones to get such global-roaming
capability for data as well as for voice are the already available HTC Rezound,
Droid Razr by Motorola, Droid Razr Maxx by Motorola, and Droid 4 by Motorola.
With the updates, the devices will deliver voice service in more than 200
countries, thanks to the inclusion of GSM technology, up from the 40 foreign countries
that use CDMA technology in the same bands as Verizon. The devices will also deliver
data in 205 countries, up from 40, thanks to the inclusion of EDGE in the
850/900/1800/1900MHz bands and 3G HSPA+ in the 850/900/1900/2100MHz bands.
