WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Verizon, one of America's largest telecommunication companies, announced Wednesday an official operation of its commercial 5G network in two American cities Minneapolis and Chicago.

The company said this was the world's first commercial 5G mobile service for customers with 5G-equipped smartphones.

"Verizon customers will be the first in the world to have the power of 5G in their hands," said Hans Vestberg, Verizon's chairman and chief executive officer.

Customers in some downtown areas of Minneapolis and Chicago may enjoy the speeds of up to 1 Gbps, about 10 times faster than 4G peak, but the typical download speed will be less than half of its peak speed, according to Verizon.

Another American telecommunication giant AT&T announced last December that it would be "the first and only company in the U.S. to offer a mobile 5G device over a commercial, standards-based mobile 5G network" in 12 American cities. But its so-called 5G E service was criticized by its rivals for misleading consumers into believing that the upgraded 4G service is 5G.

Verizon launched the country's first commercial broadband 5G service "Verizon 5G Home" last October. It was not designed for a 5G-enabled smartphone.

Verizon announced a plan in February to launch its 5G service in more than 30 U.S. cities in 2019.