PCWorld reports that Verizon Wireless could launch Long Term Evolution (LTE) services next year, an aggressive timeframe that would potentially make the operator the world’s first to deploy the next-generation technology. “We expect that LTE will actually be in service somewhere here in the US probably this time next year,” said Dick Lynch, executive vice-president and CTO of Verizon Communications, in a speech at Cisco Systems’ C-Scape conference in San Jose, California. Verizon Wireless has already expressed its intent to move from CDMA technology to LTE (a member of the GSM family of technologies) as it begins to roll-out next-generation mobile standards. However, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has until now been generally regarded as a world pioneer for LTE rollout, publicly targeting a 2010 launch.

Official final ratification of the LTE standard is expected to happen this month. The majority of the world’s most high-profile mobile operators have already opted for LTE as their technology of choice for next-generation mobile communications. Verizon has conducted lab trials of LTE using kit from vendor Nortel Networks. The operator will become the largest mobile operator in the US once its acquisition of Alltel closes.