We just took a peek at T-Mobile's answer to 4G, and the sorts of speeds you might be able to expect using the service. Not content to let another carrier hog the spotlight, Verizon's come out with an announcement of its own, and its projected 4G speeds look like they'll be the ones to beat.

Verizon techs put the company's fledgling LTE 4G network to the test, seeing just how much bandwidth they could pull from the towers. Before we get to the jaw-dropping peak speeds, we'll take a look at a real-world data test. You'll rarely be receiving a perfect signal, with interference from other electronic devices, reflected signals off of buildings and trees, and the bandwidth needs of other users all taking their toll on your connection. Realistically, Verizon says, you can hope to pull 0.6 to 1.5MB/s downloading, with upload speeds just below that at between 0.25 and 0.6MB/s. If those rates are reliable, that's quite speedy for a wireless connection, surpassing many wired home broadband hookups.

Now, don't run out and sign up for 4G based on this alone, as getting a perfect signal means avoiding all those snags we listed above, but it should be possible to download at up to 6MB/s and upload at 3MB/s. To help your brain make sense out of those ridiculously high speeds, you could in theory download over Verizon's LTE network faster than you could copy files of a DVD-ROM with a quad-speed DVD drive.

You'll have to wait until later this year to get on board with Verizon's 4G, with access becoming available in 25 to 30 areas of the country.

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