Verizon 4G expands to more midwest cities

The nation’s fastest 4G network just got a big boost in the heartland.

Parts of Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky have just been added to the mobile carrier’s dozens of 4G-equipped cities.

The company is still on track to bring its high-speed service to 140 markets by the end of the year. At the end of 2010, it had been rolled out in 38.

Based on a standard known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), it is the fastest 4G network in the country. Because of the technological hurdles, it was the last of the major carriers to launch a 4G phone, but now it’s hoping to hit the ground running. That flagship phone, the Thunderbolt, has received strongly positive reviews.

The newest additions include the following cities:

– Greater Lehigh Valley, PA

– Allentown, PA

– Bethlehem, PA

– Easton, PA

– Hilton Head, SC

– Dafuskie Island, SC

– Moss Creek, SC

– Bluffton, SC

– Rose Hill, SC

– Buckwater, SC

– Sun City, SC

– Jasper, SC

– Pritchardville, SC

– Columbia, SC

– Lake Murray, SC

– Irmo, SC

– Seven Oaks, SC

– St Andrews, SC

– Wilmington, NC

– Clarksville, TN

– Cleveland, TN

– McDonald, TN

– Prospect, TN

– Fort Campbell, KY

– St Bethlehem, KY

– New Providence, KY

– Oak Grove, KY

– Hopkinsville, KY

By the end of 2013, all markets with existing Verizon 3G coverage – which is practically the entire country – will be equipped with 4G.