Sprint Nextel Inc. revealed Thursday that it will have 28 new 4G LTE markets up and running in the next few months. This will take Sprint up to 67 markets with some level of LTE coverage. As has been typical of the deployment so far, many of new markets are smaller towns and cities in the U.S. The new markets are:

• Albany, Ga.
• Anderson, S.C.
• Bay City, Mich.
• Branson, Mo.
• Bremerton/Silverdale, Wash.
• Columbus, Ga.
• Columbus, Miss.
• Decatur, Ala.
• Florence/Muscle Shoals, Ala.
• Gadsden, Ala.
• Gaffney, S.C.
• Gettysburg, Pa.
• Glasgow, Ky.
• Homosassa Springs, Fla.
• Hot Springs, Ariz.
• Lake City, Fla.
• Lake Havasu City/Kingman, Ariz.
• Midland, Mich.
• Nacogdoches, Texas
• Opelousas/Eunice, La.
• Oxford, Miss.
• Paris, Texas
• Pittsfield, MA
• Saginaw, Mich.
• Spartanburg, S.C.
• The Villages, Fla.
• Waycross, Ga.
• Winona, Minn.

All these are set to launch in the coming months, according to Sprint. "During the pre-launch phase, Sprint customers with capable devices may begin to see 4G LTE coverage in these areas and are welcome to use the network even before it officially launches," the company says in a statement. Why this matters
This launch announcement is right out of the Sprint playbook for LTE launches so far. The company is racing to deploy LTE as fast as possible in smaller markets that get street-level coverage to begin with. The operator's plan is to go back and fill gaps later. A 4G overview
Check out our dynamic chart of the current winners and losers of the 4G race in the U.S. For more

• 4G State of Play: LTE in the USA
• 1800MHz: A Global 4G Band Emerges?
• 5 Carriers Going Big With Small Cells in 2013

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile