US telecom carrier, AT&T has said that it will roll out its upgraded 4G network in five cities across the US including Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Altanta and San Antonio this summer.

John Stankey, head of AT&T's business-solutions unit laid out plans to launch the network in five cities at an investor conference on Wednesday. He also said that the company expects to launch the service in 10 additional markets by the end of the year.

AT&T had earlier said that it will speed up its deployment of the network to compete with rivals including Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, who are rolling out their own high speed networks.

AT&T’s current network is called 'HSPA+' and it is set to launch a network based on 'Long-Term Evolution' or 'LTE' standard. Even as AT&T calls its upgraded 3G network 4G, many see the LTE network to be a truly 4G network.

Verizon already offers its LTE network in 38 markets and 60 commercial airports. AT&T has claimed that its faster 3G service would allow a more gradual roll out of the new network.