"More spectrum is not always a good thing. It needs to be the right spectrum," Melone said.

Speaking with reporters during a break, Melone played up the role LTE will play for Verizon but emphasized that it will take time to make the transition to the new network. Verizon's current CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) networks, which use narrowband CDMA-1x and EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) technology, are likely to be around for many more years.

Though the carrier is moving toward delivering voice calls with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) over LTE, that technology probably won't be able to deliver the right user experience for another year or 18 months, he said. Fittingly, he also said Verizon is unlikely to offer an LTE-only device until 2012 or 2013.

The CDMA networks will stay in place as long as they are needed, Melone said, but when they go away, the newer of the two may be first. Melone said that in 2020, he would not be surprised to see the CDMA-1x network still in place, but the EV-DO system probably will not be. That's because EV-DO is dedicated to data services, just like LTE is, he said.

As data users gradually migrate to LTE, Verizon will be able to shift radio spectrum from EV-DO to the new network one sliver at a time, Melone said.