Verizon 4G Network Expanding to Oswego

Cell phone service will get speedier for some Verizon customers starting tomorrow.

On Thursday, Verizon Wireless will expand its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network into Oswego, along with parts of the greater Chicago and northwest Indiana areas.

Greater Chicago area Verizon spokeswoman Arianne Venuso said the network will allow customers to surf the Web, send photos and download music and movies up to 10 times faster than the existing 3G network.

“You’re talking about blazingly fast speeds,” she said Wednesday. “If you want to download a movie on your phone or tablet, it’s literally in seconds.”

Customers must have a 4G-enabled smartphone or mobile hotspot MiFi device to access the network, Venuso said. If 4G customers travel outside a 4G coverage area, the devices will automatically connect to Verizon’s 3G network.

Verizon first began introducing 4G in December 2010, launching the network in 38 major metropolitan areas, including Chicago. The network will be available nationwide by 2014, Venuso said.

“By the end of 2013, anywhere where the Verizon 3G network exists, [the 4G network] will be there,” she said. “We’re expanding as fast as we can.”

Verizon Illinois/Wisconsin Region President T.J. Fox said the network will revolutionize the way people communicate.

“We know this connectivity will be a key communications and technology enabler for many years to come,” he said.

Expanding network

Starting May 19, the 4G LTE network will be available to Chicago-area customers north to the Illinois/Wisconsin state line, east to Lake Michigan, south to Tinley Park and west to Lake Zurich. Area communities that will have access to 4G include:

• Crest Hill
• Elwood
• Frankfort
• Joliet
• Lockport
• Mokena
• Montgomery
• New Lenox
• Plainfield
• Romeoville
• Shorewood
• St. Charles
• West Chicago