New television advertising spots from Verizon Wireless suggest the operator will turn on its LTE network in December, ruling out a launch of the service in time for Black Friday.

The ad spots indicate Verizon’s LTE service is coming in December. The carrier had previously said it would turn on the network before the end of the year, but did not release more specifics about the timing of the launch.

Dan Hays, director of the telecommunications practice at PRTM, says the timing of the launch could affect Verizon’s ability to capitalize on the seasonal increase in sales.

“If you don’t launch by Dec. 1, you’re likely missing out on the opportunity for significant holiday sales,” he says, citing Thanksgiving advertising opportunities and shopping on Black Friday.

Hays says Verizon’s LTE network will be difficult to compete with once it launches. Verizon plans to turn on service in 38 metropolitan areas covering more than 110 million people by the end of the year and is launching LTE in more than 60 commercial airports.

“They’ve clearly been making sure that when they launch, they’ll have the strongest position in the U.S. if not the world,” Hays says. “The number of markets that they’re launching in and the virtually nationwide coverage that they’re expected to launch in will make them a tough act to follow.”

Hays says the piecemeal launch strategy for Sprint and Clearwire’s WiMAX network has wasted their time-to-market advantage. “Clearwire’s opportunity was to get in early and move quickly to get subscribers onto 4G,” he says. “In taking a slower ramp, Clearwire has squandered the opportunity to lock in subscribers.”

Clearwire and Sprint’s WiMAX network currently covers about 101 million people in more than 60 markets.