Verizon Rolling Out Mac Support for 4G LTE USB Modem

With its nascent–but rapidly growing–4G LTE network, Verizon Wireless had introduced users in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. to mobile broadband speeds that rivaled or even exceeded wired broadband speeds. To take advantage of its 4G network, the carrier had introduced two LTE USB modems for laptops in December–the LG VL600 and the Pantech UML290. At the devices’ unveiling, Verizon only offered Windows PC support, but now the appropriate Mac drivers are available for OS X users to experience 4G network with the Pantech UML290 modem.

Support for Mac is still not available for the LG modem, but will be forthcoming according to the carrier.

Users of Pantech’s 4G modem can head on over to Verizon Wireless’s support page to download the appropriate drivers for official Mac support.

In the past, users have found unofficial workarounds to get Pantech’s modem to work on a Mac. Now, Mac users, including those who sport the MacBook Air, MacBook, and MacBook Pro, can enjoy faster mobile broadband speeds, and as Verizon says, “rule the air.”

Verizon promises speeds of 10 times faster than 3G speeds on its next-generation mobile broadband network. The carrier is promising download speeds of between 5-10 Mbps and upload speeds of 2-5 Mbps. In reality, I found that Verizon had under-promised and over-delivered on its 4G speeds; in real-life testing, I find that download speeds were hovering on average of 7-15 Mbps and upload speeds were regularly in excess of 5 Mbps.