Perhaps looking to stave off some recent claims that it was throttling back on network spending, Verizon Wireless (VZ) sent out a reminder this morning that the carrier was ahead of schedule on rolling out its LTE network.
The carrier noted that its original plans to cover 185 million potential customers with its LTE network by the end of 2011 have already been achieved with the addition of 22 markets last week. The carrier said it will add 13 new markets on Nov. 17, including Kansas City, Mo.; and Roanoke, Va., and hinted at further deployments to be announced for December.
Verizon Wireless has said it planned to expand LTE coverage to match its CDMA-based coverage of approximately 285 million pops covered by the end of 2013. Rival AT&T Mobility recently began rolling out LTE services, hitting five initial launch markets with plans to cover approximately 70 million pops by the end of the year. Sprint Nextel has also announced plans for its LTE rollout, claiming it will begin offering commercial service by the middle of next year and cover 250 million pops by the end of 2013.
A number of financial analysts noted that they expected parent company Verizon Communications to taper capital expenditures in 2012 as the company surpasses the 200 million pop coverage mark for its LTE build and completes its planned FiOS build out.
“… we believe it is fair to assume that [capex] trends next year will likely be down vs. 2011 levels,” noted Wells Fargo Securities L.L.C. in a report. The firm lowered its expected capex for Verizon from $16.3 billion to $15.2 billion for 2012.
Macquarie Equities Research noted that Verizon’s Q3 capex spend came in below its forecasts across its wireless and wireline operations, which helped push the company’s stronger than expected free cash flow for the quarter.
While Verizon Wireless continues to rapidly expand its LTE network, the carrier noted that capital expenditures for the quarter actually dropped nearly 18% to $1.8 billion, though full-year capex was running 15.8% ahead of 2010 at nearly $7.2 billion.
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