@jbtaylor on tech

When Verizon issued their list of markets where they plan to roll out 4G, they also included a list of airports which will have the coverage. I just completed a review of that list and realized that there are several markets where Sprint 4G covers the entire city, but Verizon 4G will only cover the airport.

Austin, Texas is an Verizon "Airport Only" city. But Sprint covers the whole city. (Take note if you're heading to SXSW this March -- the crowd in Austin's airport, pictured above, will be huge.)

There are several other cities in this category. Here's a list, in addition to Austin they include:

• Honolulu, HI 
• Newark, NJ 
• Portland, OR 
• Providence, RI 
• Raleigh, NC
• Sacramento, CA 
• Salt Lake City, UT 
• St. Louis, MO 
• Trenton, NJ 
• Wilmington, DE

I may be updating this list after Verizon publishes their coverage maps this Sunday. There are some airports in their press release, such as John Wayne / Orange County, in Santa Ana, Calif., that they may consider part of the Los Angeles market. (Incidentally, Sprint 4G covers all of Santa Ana.) Verizon may also consider Newark part of the New York market. (Sprint doesn't, but some marketers might.)

At any rate, it's smart marketing on Verizon's part to wire up an airport. That's where business customers are, and that's the customer they will target initially. (Remember, Verizon is only offering 4G modems at first -- no phones.)

A little over a year ago, in November 2009, Sprint launched Sprint 4G in North Carolina. We're got 4G in metro Charlotte, including Huntersville, Monroe, Indian Trail, Mint Hill, Matthews, Gastonia, Mt. Holly, Harrisburg, Davidson and Cornelius.

In the Triad, we're in my hometown of Winston-Salem. We're also in Greensboro, High Point, Lexington, Clemmons, Thomasville, Trinity, Asheboro, Archdale, Jamestown, Kernersville, Reidsville, Burlington and Mebane.

In the Triangle, of course, we're in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary. But we're also in Carrboro, Hillsborough, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina (which is my favorite hyphenated place name in N.C. next to my hometown), Wake Forest, Garner, Knightdale and Morrisville.

Yesterday, our friends at Verizon announced plans to begin offering 4G in North Carolina, but their coverage will be limited at first. They will cover metro Charlotte, plus RDU -- the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

We offer the country's largest selection of 4G capable devices -- we have 11 currently for sale -- including two phones: the HTC EVO 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G. Verizon, for its part, is following the same path we did in 2008 when we began our formal 4G rollout. (They will only sell modems at first, not phones. The phones will come "later in 2011" we're told.)

So if you live Charlotte, or you work at RDU, Verizon is now giving you a new 4G choice in North Carolina. But if you want a 4G phone and access to 4G coverage in the places where most North Carolinians live and work, Sprint remains a better choice.

I also think the pricing decision Verizon made is worth noting. They will sell you a 5MB a month plan for $50, which sounds great, except most 4G users consume more data than that. Our partners at Clearwire point out that their average customer uses 7MB a month. 7MB a month from Verizon will cost you $70 a month.

Verizon is offering a 10MB a month plan for $80.

At Sprint, we offer a 3G/4G Mobile Broadband Plan for $60 per month. The key difference -- it's UNLIMITED 4G use and 5 GB of 3G use each month.

We also offer a 4G Mobile Broadband Plan for $50 per month which includes unlimited 4G use.

While it's clear Verizon has a huge marketing budget to throw at their 4G offering, they will have to expand their network and device portfolio, and match our pricing offer to compete with us in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, people of the Triad and Triangle, if you're a Verizon customer, head to Charlotte for a Panthers game or drive to RDU for a flight if you want to use 4G. Or switch to Sprint.