Verizon Wireless just launched its 4G LTE network in the USA. Here's how it compares to the three other 4G players in the country.

Verizon will launch its "4G" LTE network on December 5 in 38 U.S. cities. Big Red's new network has been highly anticipated, but it's actually the fourth American network to call itself 4G.

The U.S. carriers are using 4G to refer to fast mobile data networks with typical download speeds around 5Mbps — about what you'd expect from an average home Internet connection. The four 4G carriers are using three different technologies: Sprint is using WiMAX, T-Mobile uses HSPA+, and Verizon and MetroPCS use LTE.

AT&T is in an odd spot. They're installing HSPA+ right now, but they refuse to say how fast it is (except that it's faster than 14.4Mbps), and they're working towards an LTE network in the future. The company has already released an LTE-compatible USB modem), the AT&T USBConnect Adrenaline, which will work with AT&T's LTE network when it comes on line.

None of these technologies are actually 4G, as defined by the International Telecommunications Union, the official arbiter of such things. According to the ITU, true 4G must deliver blazing speeds of 100Mbps on the move and 1Gbps down - something we won't see for several more years. But everybody else is calling these new networks 4G, so we'll play along.

The 4G networks have different speeds, plans, devices and coverage. T-Mobile has the broadest coverage, but only one device — a USB modem — that can hit the network's maximum speeds. Sprint has the most devices, including phones, modems, and Wi-Fi hotspots. And MetroPCS isn't doing any modems at all — it only has one feature phone on LTE, the Samsung Craft, but it's really inexpensive to use.

Verizon's two modems and 38 cities are only a start. The company plans smartphones and tablets in 2011, as well as potentially new kinds of service plans. For now, though, here's a chart to show how your 4G options currently compare: