Sprint Nextel Corporation, the nation's first carrier to test, to launch and market 4G technology, on Wednesday announced that it will expand its next- generation service "4G," or WiMAX, service to various cities across the country this year. Overland Park, Kansas based Sprint Nextel stated that it will roll out its 4G service in 10 cities of United States in year 2009, and in five additional markets in 2010.

According to Sprint Nextel, the ten US cities where it will launch its "4G," or WiMAX service this year (in 2009) include Atlanta (Georgia), Charlotte (North Carolina), Chicago
(Illinois), Dallas (Texas), Fort Worth (Texas), Honolulu (Hawaii), Las Vegas (Nevada), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Portland (Oregon), and Seattle (Washington).

Sprint Nextel stated that the five cities where it will roll out its 4G service in 2010, will include Boston (Massachusetts), Houston (Texas), New York City (New York), San Francisco (California), and Washington, D. C.

In a statement, Todd Rowley, vice president of Sprint 4G, said, "Sprint continues to lead the wireless industry by harnessing the power of WiMax. The availability of Sprint
4G in more places this year and our aggressive expansion of Sprint 4G service demonstrates our commitment to provide 4G capabilities and devices nationwide for our business, consumer and government customers. These capabilities enable significantly enhanced performance and productivity for our customers."

Sprint Nextel created history by launching its 4G service first in Baltimore in September 2008. The company rolled out the first dual-mode 3G/4G device in December, 2008. Currently, the Sprint 4G available in Baltimore offers turbo-charged mobile broadband - peak downlink speeds of up to 12 Mbps, and average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps - three to five times faster than today's 3G service from any carrier.