Verizon Wireless today disclosed that wireless data speeds in LTE (Long Term Evolution) field trials have been faster than expected, prompting a spokesman to boast that the company will beat AT&T Inc. into the LTE business by 12 to 18 months.

Verizon's LTE field trials in Boston and Seattle have shown average downlink rates of 5Mbit/sec. to 12Mbit/sec. and average uplink speeds of 2Mbit/sec. to 5Mbit/sec., which would give mobile customers browsing speeds comparable to what users would expect from a typical wired home Internet connection, the company said.

In January, Verizon had said it expected that LTE, also known as 4G, would offer user speeds that were 10 times faster than those of existing 3G networks, and up to 6Mbit/sec. on the downlink.

source: computerworld