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GREENSBORO — High-speed Internet in the Triad is about to go wireless as Sprint and Time Warner Cable roll out 4G wireless networks before the end of the year.

“Think of it as a huge wi-fi hot spot over the Triad,” said John Taylor, public affairs manager for Sprint’s North Carolina operations. “By using our WiMax technology, we’ll be able to give customers 4G speed Internet access on any wi-fi enabled device anywhere in the Triad, Charlotte and the Triangle.”

Sprint’s plan, called Sprint 4G, will be available in November — a month before Time Warner rolls out its similar Road Runner Mobile.

Both plans will offer 4G speeds faster than most commercially available broadband. Sprint claims its service will provide speeds up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Time Warner Cable claims speeds of up to 6 Mbps. Both services will be fast enough to simultaneously stream multiple high-quality videos from services like Netflix or sites like Hulu and CNN.

Sprint’s 4G service will be $69.99 a month for unlimited access to both the 4G and 3G networks. Lower rates are available for those who would like 3G-only access and the ability to buy 4G “day passes.”

Time Warner will offer unlimited 4G access for $49.95 per month for existing Road Runner Standard or Turbo customers, with lower rates for customers who order multiple services or agree to limited downloads.

“With Time Warner Cable’s 4G Mobile Network, we now offer the fastest mobile service available and extend our reach outside the home,” said Carol Hevey, executive vice president of the Carolina Region for Time Warner Cable, in a statement. “Giving our customers the convenience of mobility and the speed of 4G, Road Runner Mobile lets customers take their favorite Internet service wherever they go. This is an important part of our strategy to give our customers any content, on any device, anytime, anywhere.”

The “G” in 3G and 4G stands for “generation” and denotes the faster upload/download speeds of the technology that provides Internet access to computers and wireless Internet devices.

Both companies will offer USB plug-in cards that will give customers 4G speeds within the major metropolitan areas they cover and 3G speeds farther away from towers. Sprint will also offer devices to create “personal hot spots,” letting customers share their wi-fi with up to five wireless devices like laptops or phones.

Greensboro’s move toward the Internet’s leading edge comes at a time when many of the state’s residents are connected to the Internet through the slowest access.

A new survey — the Speed Matters Speed Test — by the Communications Workers of America says that North Carolina ranks 34th in the nation in “real-time” Internet connection speeds. That refers to the actual speed available to a subscriber.

Between 2007 and 2009, the average download speed in the state increased from 2.6 megabits per second to 4.5.

At 5 Mbps, it would take 35 minutes for a subscriber to download 100 family photos or four hours to upload them, according to Debbie Goldman, telecommunications policy director for the CWA in Washington.

By comparison, superhigh-speed fiber-optic cables would transmit those photos in 2 minutes.

Two major factors influence a person’s access to high-speed Internet: the population density of their location and income.

Guilford County’s Internet service patterns are a prime example. ZIP codes containing affluent suburbs in the northwest and south, for example, have higher Internet speeds than those near central and east Greensboro.

A key exception is the 27403 ZIP code around UNCG, which offers high-speed Internet for its students and faculty.

Cable companies typically invest where they can get the most return from subscribers, Goldman said. Affluent subscribers offer one ready source of income at relatively low cost for the corporation. Conversely, far-flung residents in more rural counties are limited because it costs much more for a cable company to build lines across distance.

Goldman declined to talk about Sprint or Time Warner, but she said 4G could bring about big changes if the systems deliver as promised.

“In general,” she said, “we are moving to a period where there will be competition from 4G from a variety of carriers which they claim will be able to deliver Internet access at much faster speeds than we have now.”

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron@news-record.com