Verizon Wireless has finally rolled out its much-awaited 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless service to the public in thirty-eight major metropolitan markets across the United States.

The company claims that its new service will be able to deliver speeds around 10 times as fast as today’s 3G networks. The service will offer download speeds of 5Mbps to 12Mbps and upload speeds of 2Mbps to 5Mbps to as many as 110 million people.

Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile are already offering 4G services, but T-Mobile’s HSPA+ that it claims offer 4G speeds is not a true 4G network. It is just an improved version of 3G network. Sprint’s 4G service advertises peak download speeds of 10Mbps, with average speeds remaining in the range of 3Mbps to 6Mbps. Sometimes network coverage becomes spotty.

But, Verizon Wireless is yet to start offering phone that support it new service. Currently, the carrier is offering 4G USB modems that allow users to access the 4G network.

Verizon Wireless is expected to make announcement about its 4G LTE phones during CES which is going to take place next month.