Verizon: Aggressive 4G plans won’t increase capex

An aggressive LTE rollout will also hasten the demise of the 3G network as Verizon looks to use its 850 MHz and 1900 MHz spectrum for 4G expansion. Melone said he could easily envision Verizon still running a CDMA 1X network ten years from now as it will remain a highly efficient voice network, but Verizon will likely scale back the size of the 1X network as voice migrates to LTE VoIP. The EV-DO network, however, might not make it ten years.

"EV-DO would have a much shorter lifespan as we migrate data traffic to the LTE network," he said. Initially the EV-DO network would be used as a fallback capacity in congested areas or augmented coverage where Verizon hasn't yet deployed 4G, Melone said, but eventually the LTE network will become so ubiquitous, Verizon will start offering incentives to customers to upgrade to 4G handsets so it can phase out those EV-DO carriers.

Taking questions from analysts at the Ericsson event, Melone also addressed the possibilities of Verizon selecting a third LTE vendor for the new network and of outsourcing its network operations to an outside vendor. The answers to both questions: not very likely.

Melone said that Verizon's network is its core strength, the main focus of its resources and the central theme of its marketing message. "I would be hypocritical if I said our network is the inherent strength we bring to our customers and then suggest we outsource," Melone said.

As for considering a third vendor, Melone said Verizon is happy with Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. If either of those current vendors didn't live up to expectations, it would consider a third, but Verizon is not actively looking for one, Melone said.