Ahead of iPhone 5 launch, AT&T rolls out LTE to Seattle, Pittsburgh and more

Folks that pre-ordered, or plan to get, an iPhone 5 on AT&T’s network will be happy to hear that the carrier has been beefing up its LTE footprint over the past few days.

Apple’s latest handset is the first from the company that supports the next-generation wireless technology, and now AT&T customers can enjoy it in more places…

Here’s a list of all of the markets the carrier has added to its LTE coverage map over the past week:

  • Albany, New York
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Wilmington, Delaware
  • Sacramento, California
  • Memphis, Tennessee
  • Birmingham, Alabama
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Portland, Oregon

AT&T says it will continue its rapid rollout of the 4G tech throughout the country, but it’s still tremendously behind Verizon. With more than a year head start, Big Red now has LTE in more than 400 markets, which it says, covers more than 2/3 of the US population.

Still, if you’re an AT&T customer looking at getting the new iPhone soon, these new LTE markets are a welcome surprise. I know they are for me, as I live just a little outside of Portland.