According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless is planning to release the first LTE capable phones in mid-2011, six months ahead of the schedule Verizon had previously announced. 

The first handsets will use dual chips to allow the device to operate on 4G and 3G networks. “Very likely, we initially won’t have a single, integrated chip,” said Anthony Melone, Verizon’s chief technology officer. 

Rival Sprint already sells 4G service in some markets on a competing technology known as WiMax through a partnership with Clearwire. Last month, the carrier said it plans to release its first 4G handset as early as this summer, as part of a turnaround effort to win back subscribers. 

Verizon Wireless plans to start competing with them already in late 2010 though, as the carrier should then start offering LTE capable equipment such as PCMCIA cards and USB modems.