NEW YORK — Sprint Nextel Corp. said Monday that it has turned on its new wireless data network, providing a much-needed boost to the carrier, whose data speeds lag those of its largest competitors.

Sprint fired up the fourth-generation, or 4G, network in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, San Antonio and some smaller surrounding cities on Sunday. It uses LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, technology already in use by Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc.

Four smartphones and one mobile-hotspot device are capable of using the network.

— From wire reports