Verizon Wireless finally is pulling the trigger on its EV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) high-speed network upgrade, three months after rival Sprint-Nextel Corp. went live with the technology.
The first Verizon Rev. A markets go live today, including Boston and its suburbs; Richmond and Hampton Roads, Va.; Chicago and the surrounding area; Gary, Ind.; Salt Lake City and other cities in Utah; as well as throughout the existing footprint of Verizon Wireless’ wireless broadband network in Florida.
The company’s existing EV-DO network, available to more than 200 million people in 242 major metropolitan areas and 180 major airports, enables high-speed wireless Internet applications with the BroadbandAccess service for laptops, e-mail for PDAs and the V CAST video and music service for handsets.
BroadbandAccess customers in enhanced wireless broadband coverage areas can expect average download speeds of 450-800kbps and average upload speeds of 300-400kbps, which translates to downloading a one-megabyte e-mail attachment (the equivalent of a small PowerPoint presentation or a large PDF file) in less than 15 seconds, and uploading the same in less than 25 seconds, the company said on Thursday.
Verizon also announced a new compact USB720 wireless modem that will be available on Feb. 2, with the ability to connect to notebooks, desktops and handhelds via an industry-standard USB interface. Verizon previously announced the AirCard 595 PC Card for Rev. A, and both devices are available through business sales channels and online, and will be offered in the $150-$200 price range.
EV-DO Rev. A is the next enhancement of CDMA-based 3G technology. Sprint became the first operator in the United States to deploy Rev. A in October 2006.
Subsequent revisions of the standard will include Rev. B and C, with the latter widely expected to be a “4G” technology to compete with the GSM-based Long-Term Evolution technology and mobile WiMAX.
Sprint-Nextel Corp. www.sprint.com
Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com
