By Michael Oleaga / m.oleaga@latinospost.com (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jun 29, 2013 09:07 AM EDT

Verizon Wireless has proclaimed its 4G LTE rollout is "substantially complete."

The U.S. carrier's statement comes two and a half years after it announced plans its 4G LTE expansion. As of June 27, Verizon Wireless claimed its high-speed mobile data network is available across 500 markets in the U.S. According to Verizon's Chief Technology Officer Nicola Palmer, the city to complete the 500 milestone is Parkersburg, W.V. 

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Palmer noted the 4G LTE coverage now covers 298 million people across the U.S. According to the Los Angeles Times, Verizon stated 95 percent of the U.S. population has access to 4G, a five percent increase from eight months ago. In addition, the carrier hopes to utilize 4G towers to produce audio and video calls.

In regards to Verizon's 3G network, the carrier plans on converting the network into 4G signals in select areas starting in early 2014.

"Now that we're done with our initial LTE build, we are looking to the Advanced Wireless spectrum to add depth and longevity to our network," said Palmer.

While Verizon tops the LTE coverage map, AT&T is second with 315 markets, which is a comfortable lead ahead of Sprint's 110 and T-Mobile's seven markets.

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