4G Wireless Offerings Begin

Cell phone companies are about to unleash marketing on consumers for 4G access, which is the next advancement in wireless technology.

Companies promise faster speeds with the new service.

Sprint Nextel Corp. is the first carrier to beat the drum offering 4G.  It is releasing its first 4G phone, the EVO, this week.

Verizon Wireless will also be firing up a 4G network in 25 to 30 cities this fall. 

A smaller provider, MetroPCS Communications Inc., is scheduled to introduce its first 4G phone around the same time.

Matt Carter, president of Sprint’s 4G division, said that the upgrade to 4G is more likely to enhance the things you can already do with 3G.

"View it as the difference between watching regular TV and high-definition TV," Carter told The Associated Press (AP). "Once you’ve experienced high-definition TV it’s hard to go back to standard TV. It’s the same sort of thing here."

Dan Hays, who focuses on telecommunications at management consulting firm PRTM, said that Sprint and Verizon will try to frame their marketing around the "4G" term, rather than on the real speeds it has to offer.

"It’s a terrible story from a consumer standpoint, because it’s tremendously confusing," he told AP.

Another benefit to 4G is that a user can download a bigger file in less time. 

Bill Davidson, senior vice president of marketing and investor relations at wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc., said that the technology is more hyped than its value to the consumer.

"It’s an important thing for the industry," he told AP.  "It’s absolutely needed. … But I just think some of this has gotten a bit ahead of itself in terms of expectations for consumers."

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On the Net:

• Sprint Nextel Corp.
• Verizon Wireless
• MetroPCS Communications Inc.