AT&T adds six LTE markets, unveils plan for 77 more

Six more AT&T markets have access to its 4G LTE network, bringing its total to 182, the carrier said today.

Meanwhile, seven existing AT&T markets have snagged expanded LTE coverage. The company also unveiled plans to bring the super-fast wireless connection to 77 additional markets by the end of summer.

AT&T is racing to catch up to market leader Verizon Wireless, which offers LTE in nearly 500 markets and plans to wrap up its deployment by the middle of the year. With the increasing consumer awareness over 4G LTE and the need for a faster wireless connection, having the breadth of coverage has become a critical selling point for the carriers.

AT&T, meanwhile, argues it has the highest 4G LTE speeds and also touts its HSPA+ network, which it also calls 4G, as part of its broader high-speed coverage.

AT&T is still ahead both of Sprint Nextel, which has lagged in its LTE roll out, particularly in the big cities, and of T-Mobile, which has just begun to roll out its next-generation network.

Here are the new markets:

Jackson, Tenn., Kalamazoo, Mo., Napa, Calif., Orangeburg, S.C., Rocky Mount-Wilson, N.C., and Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif.

And here are the planned markets:

Florence / Muscle Shoals, Ala., Huntsville, Ala., Monroeville / Evergreen, Ala., Troy / Greenville, Ala., Tuscaloosa, Ala., Flagstaff, Ariz., Chico, Calif., Merced, Calif., Visalia, Calif., Dover, Del., Lake City, Fla., Ocala, Fla., Hancock, Ga., Jefferson / Commerce (Jackson County), Ga., Valdosta, Ga., Davenport, Iowa, Champaign, Ill., Rockford, Ill., Columbus, Ind., Fort Wayne, Ind., Manhattan, Kan., Topeka, Kan., Elizabethtown, Ky., New Iberia, La., Shreveport, La., Cape Cod, Mass., Leonardtown, Md., Flint, Mich., Lansing, Mich., Muskegon, Mich., Saginaw, Mich, Duluth, Minn., Cape Girardeau, Mo., Columbia, Mo., Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss., Corinth / New Albany, Miss., Greenwood / Cleveland, Miss., Meridian / Philadelphia, Miss., Asheville, N.C., Goldsboro, N.C., Kinston, N.C., Portsmouth, N.H., Atlantic City, N.J. Millville, N.J., Southern NJ Shore Points, N.J., Farmington, N.M., Gallup, N.M., Batavia, N.Y., Cortland, N.Y., Seneca Falls, N.Y., Dayton, Ohio, Wooster, Ohio, Youngstown, Ohio, Salem, Ore., Williamsport, Penn., Anderson, SC., Chattanooga, Tenn., Cookeville, Tenn., Athens, Texas, Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, Corsicana, Texas, Huntsville, Texas, Laredo, Texas, Lufkin-Nacogdoches, Texas, McAllen, Texas, Paris, Texas, Sherman-Denison, Texas, Texarkana, Texas, Victoria, Texas, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Petersburg, Va., Roanoke, Va., Spokane, Wash., Huntington, W.V., Morgantown, W. Va., Laramie, Wyo.