Verizon CTO: Social networking will drive 4G

Social networking services will drive Verizon Wireless' evolution to 4G, said the operator's chief technology officer Dick Lynch in an interview with Investor's Business Daily. "What we see is the typical person today at Facebook or YouTube, or any social networking site, being the major wireless user of the future," Lynch said, noting Verizon's 4G network will boast accelerated two-way data speeds complete with abundant bandwidth for video services, interactive gaming and relating applications. "4G isn't going to be about more voice (services) or more text messaging. It's going to be about interactive applications--customers that are far more comfortable with and demanding of interactive applications, people who believe interactivity is a right." Verizon Wireless in on pace to launch 4G services in 2010--the operator is expected to be a major player in the FCC's upcoming spectrum auction, scheduled for January. 

For more on Verizon's 4G forecast:
- read this Investor's Business Daily article

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