Sprint Verizon 4G Handset Race UnderwaySprint Verizon 4G Handset Race Underway

A battle of 4G handsets between Sprint and Verizon Wireless is shaping up as both firms are reported to be accelerating their handset development efforts. Sprint's WiMax network appears to have taken over the availability lead with plans to unveil at least one handset by summer.

Sprint's WiMax network is being rolled out by Clearwire, which is majority-owned by Sprint. Previously, Clearwire executives had said they planned to introduce WiMax handsets by the end of the year but in recent days, Forbes Magazine reported that Sprint plans to unveil a WiMax handset by summer.

At last week's World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Wireless' chief technology officer Dick Lynch indicated that handsets for its LTE network appear to be ahead of schedule. LTE handsets got a big boost last week when the old Voice over LTE Initiative was approved and renamed VoLTE by global carriers. VoLTE paves the way to voice calling over LTE networks.

Clearwire, which offers WiMax service in 27 U.S. markets, offers WiMax via data cards and dongles. Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, is expected to begin offering data service via data cards and dongles, too, in 25-30 markets later this year. Voice handsets will likely boost sales for both Clearwire/Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

WiMax handsets have shown up on WiMax networks elsewhere in the world. HTC, which is reported to be readying a WiMax handset for Clearwire/Sprint, developed a WiMax handset based in its HTC Touch HD for Russia's Scartel WiMax network in 2008.

Held up until the creation of VoLTE last week, development of LTE handsets is expected to accelerate now. "Handsets are coming faster than we anticipated," said Ericsson CTO Hakan Eriksson at the WMC. The world's sole operating commercial LTE network -- TeliaSonera's network in Stockholm and Oslo -- offers data cards and dongles for users while it, too, awaits handsets.