Las Vegas ( CNN ) -- The International Consumer Electronics Show , the giant gadget convention that wrapped up on Friday , has brought some frustrating news for AT & T or Sprint customers who bought a cutting-edge 4G smartphone last year . That phone will soon be outdated . AT & T Mobility and Sprint Nextel unveiled some of the first smartphones that will tap into their new , even faster fourth-generation networks . But wait , Sprint has been talking about its 4G network since launching one in 2008 followed by its premier phone , HTC 's Evo 4G , in 2010 . And AT & T began adding `` 4G '' to the names of many of its smartphones early last year . Now , two of the largest U.S. cellular carriers are ramping up yet another 4G system . They will have LTE , or Long-term Evolution , to compete with the one Verizon Wireless launched more than a year ago . T-Mobile USA says it has 4G , which is similar to AT & T 's old 4G , but the carrier has not talked about plans for 4G LTE deployment . ( Get all that ? ) Since AT & T and Sprint have already exhausted their usage of 4G in marketing , it 's unclear how they will explain to customers the major investments they 've made to have the latest network technology . `` I do n't think the majority of our customers understand the monikers , '' AT & T executive Glenn Lurie said in an interview here at CES . Sprint product chief Fared Adib declined to comment on the company 's marketing plans . Lurie , who serves as AT & T 's liaison to Apple , declined to comment on why Apple refused to adopt the 4G moniker in the iPhone 4S , which uses last year 's HSPA+ technology that AT & T also describes as 4G . `` Forget the G 's for a second , '' Lurie said . `` What it 's called does n't matter . '' Verizon has emphasized the speed enhancements offered by its version of 4G , and makes an effort to refer to the network as 4G LTE , rather than just 4G , to differentiate from competitors , David Small , the technical chief for Verizon Wireless , has told CNN . Verizon is on track to have its 4G network match the coverage of its 3G network by next year , a spokeswoman said Friday . At CES last year , Verizon hosted two large news conferences and operated a huge booth to promote the launch of its 4G network . This year , Verizon has kept a low profile . AT & T announced eight new LTE products at CES , including smartphones and tablets . The world 's first LTE Windows phone , the Lumia 900 , will arrive in March , Nokia wrote in a message to partners on Friday . `` We use this as a way to kick off the year , '' Lurie said . `` CES is becoming more wireless-centric than ever before . '' AT & T 's loss in its bid to acquire T-Mobile has not affected operations , according to Lurie . The first 4G LTE phones for AT & T hit stores in November , before the breakup with T-Mobile was announced . At many of the large CES exhibits , 4G was pervasive . For example , a station at the entrance to LG 's booth displaying a row of phones was called True LTE Expert . Sprint announced three new devices at CES : a portable wireless hotspot , an LG phone made from recycled materials , and the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung and Google . Sprint 's new 4G LTE network is expected to match its older , slower 4G network by the end of this year , Steve Elfman , the carrier 's network operations president , said in an interview . The company will stop selling devices that support its old 4G around that same time , and it will turn off access to that network in 2015 . `` The ecosystem is going to be larger in LTE , '' Elfman said . Not only will it be larger , but this 4G is likely to remain king for some time .
A new wireless network , called 4 G LTE , took hold at CES . The technology will replace old 4 ##G phones . Old 4 ##G phones from AT & T and Sprint are not compatible with it .