While many parts of America are still not served or are underserved by 3G mobile internet connections, many service providers and consumers in large cities are already looking towards 4G data services. These services include the ill-fated Xohm service Sprint is pushing as well as the service being offered by Clearwire.

Sprint announced today that it is extending its lead with 4G service deployments by announcing additional cities that will receive 4G service in 2009. Sprint says that its 4G service is good for peak download speeds of 12 Mbps and average download speeds of 2-4 Mbps on its Baltimore network that is available today.

In 2009, Sprint plans to debut 4G service in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. Sprint says that in 2010 it plans to add more markets including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

To go along with its 4G network, Sprint has announced that it plans to roll out additional 4G devices in 2009 and 2010 that will include a 4G single-mode data card, embedded laptop cards, home broadband modems, and a tri-mode phone. The first Sprint 4G wireless network launched in Baltimore in September of 2008, but was not commercially available for some time after that date.

Sprint VP Todd Rowley said in a statement, "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 doesn't offer any concrete product names or specifications on devices that it plans to launch. The products certainly won't be from Nokia. Nokia announced in early March 2009 that it would not be producing devices for WiMAX, Sprint's 4G specification, and would instead support the rival LTE specification being backed by all other mobile providers in America.