Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and others will soon start selling their next generation services. What does that mean?We have tracked the changes from 2G to 2.5G to 3G which is where we are today, and evolving to 4G over the next couple years. That's where LTE falls in.

Bottom line is there are too many confusing names floating around the industry today? Who are they for? To build the company up in the customer mind? Maybe that was the original plan, but we are way past that reality now. Today customers don't have a clue what all these names mean. Basically it is just the next generation which means faster connections allowing more to do like downloading music, watching live tv, social networks, and all the amazing things we've been chattering about.

Verizon Wireless will have its first next-generation 4G handset in mid-2011, about six months earlier than the company had said before.

The carrier could have a phone that runs on Long Term Evolution, a type of high-speed wireless technology, three to six months after it launches the service, Anthony Melone, chief technology officer at Verizon Wireless, said in an interview. The company expects to launch the service in some markets by the end of the year.

The move is a key step in making faster, next-generation ...

BY NIRAJ SHETH on WSJ.com