Sprint Launching First LTE Phones, Though Without Said High-Speed Service

Sprint plans to start selling its first LTE-capable phones, though it has yet to officially launch LTE service.

The No. 3 U.S. carrier will start on Sunday selling both the Galaxy Nexus and the mid-range LG Viper 4G.

But don’t expect the high-speed service just by purchasing the phone. Neither phone supports Sprint’s existing Wi-Max network, nor has Sprint officially launched LTE service in any major cities.

The company has said that it expects by mid year to launch service in six areas — Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Kansas City and Baltimore. The company said it expects to cover 123 million people by the end of this year and 250 million by the end of 2013.