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Verizon has been aggressively pursuing its LTE strategy — so much so that the carrier may consider dropping Windows Phone devices if the platform doesn't adopt the technology soon. In a recent conversation with CNET, Verizon Chief Market Officer Marni Walden explained how Verizon's LTE network — which turned one year old yesterday — has been a vital part of its strategy to differentiate itself from competitors. While the carrier has a bevy of LTE-capable Android devices such as the Droid 4, the Droid RAZR, and the ever-so-soon-to-be-released Galaxy Nexus, it has offered only a single Windows Phone device up to this point: the HTC Trophy. "We need to see a timeline that makes sense if we want to continue to represent them," Walden said of Windows Phone, noting that the carrier will be working with Microsoft to attempt to meet these goals moving forward.
While this does explain the lack of Windows Phone devices currently present on Verizon, the LTE issue appears to be a matter of when, and not if: Microsoft has already confirmed the technology will be coming to the platform, and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop recently stated that his company will be creating LTE phones for 2012 "to address specific local market requirements." Notably absent from Walden's LTE criticism, however, was Apple's iPhone, which has yet to adopt LTE either — though with recent rumors pegging that for a 2012 introduction as well, Big Red may be getting its way all around.
