Verizon Spearheads Effort to Pour $1.3B Into LTE

A half-dozen venture capital firms will invest as much as $1.3 billion into Long Term Evolution, or LTE, development under a new initiative spearheaded by Verizon Wireless. The 4G Venture Forum, as the group is dubbed, includes Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, Charles River Partners, New Venture Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures, as well as LTE infrastructure providers Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson. The venture firms will identify and fund ideas for devices and applications, while Verizon and the two infrastructure companies will test concepts through their labs and developer communities.