Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., one of the three mobile operators of this city state, will launch the first 4G service for consumer smartphone users on Tuesday, according to a press release of the company on its website.

Three models of 4G phones are available for starters.

The company said the islandwide rollout of this 4G network is expected to be completed early next year. In areas where 4G has not yet been deployed, users will enjoy 3G connectivity with download speeds of up to 42Mbps.

4G, or the fourth generation of cell phone mobile communications standards, is a successor of the third generation ( 3G) standards. It can provide mobile Internet access that is up to five times faster than 3G-based smartphone services, with one- fifth of the network latency.

The theoretical download speeds may top to 75 million bits per second (Mbps) while the typical download speeds are between 3. 4Mbps and 12Mbps.