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Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A network launches Friday?
Sprint may have beaten big ol' Red this time around, but Verizon's not about to let a little friendly rivalry get them down. Rumor has it that the nation's largest CDMA carrier begins rolling out its EV-DO Revision A network this Friday, starting with ten cities (Sacramento and Salt Lake City among them) and a little data card we like to call the Sierra Wireless AirCard 595. Like Sprint's Rev. A launch, Verizon customers lucky enough to get their hands on the requisite equipment should see a substantial improvement in upstream speeds (we're guessing 300-400kbps) with a more incremental boost in the opposite direction. Pricing for the AirCard 595 should start at $150 on a two year agreement, topping out at $270 commitment-free.[Thanks, htckid]Update: GigaOM now reports a Verizon official as stating that it already has a handful of markets running EV-DO Revision A as is, and while they intend to launch a Rev. A-capable card in the near future (almost certainly the previously mentioned AirCard 595), it will not be announcing the launch of the network in an official capacity until it takes a significant number of additional markets live. Of course, official announcement or no, customers might be able to take advantage of some turbocharged wireless data in the near term just as soon as that AirCard starts shipping.
Novatel's U720 Rev A USB modem gets official for Sprint
It's all good that Sprint's Rev A network is starting to light up, but what good are hundreds of glorious downstream kilobits per second without the requisite hardware to match? Don't get us wrong -- PC Cards are all good, but we all know that a certain segment of the populace requires something a little... shall we say, different. Mercifully, Sprint has also officially announced the U720 USB modem from Novatel Wireless today that we saw breeze through the FCC not long ago. The device offers the same hot Rev A speeds as its larger, flatter stablemates, but plugs into any ol' USB port if you're willing to part with $250 (or $50 on a two year contract after rebates) starting in early November.
Sprint launches first EV-DO Rev. A network
Sticking to its word, Sprint has lit up its first EV-DO Revision A mobile broadband network today, covering San Diego to start with 20 additional markets set to launch before year's end. The upgraded Sprint Power Vision network boosts real-life upload speeds to the 300-400 kbps level, kicking the current 50-70 kbps transfer rates back to 1995 where they belong. Observed download speeds also get a shot in the arm, albeit a more modest jump to 450–800 kbps, up from 400-700 kbps. While San Diegans get all the bragging rights for the time being, folks in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and seventeen other markets can rest easy knowing that they'll be able to bask in some Rev. A goodness by the end of the year -- check the link below for the complete list. And if you're not on that list, Sprint says it should have its network completely upgraded by the third quarter of 2007.
Sprint adds two cards to Rev. A stable
Before we get you too excited, fair warning: there's not an ExpressCard to be found in the bunch. Instead, Sprint's decided to add another two PC Cards to the previously launched Novatel S720, giving them a grand total of three EV-DO Revision A-compliant data cards ahead of their network rollout -- it's just a shame all three devices fit in the same kind of slot. At any rate, we were always told not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so we're going to put a sock in it and thank Sprint for giving us options: first up is the value of the bunch, Pantech's PX-500, which'll clock in for a nice, round $0 on two-year contract. Next, the AirCard 595 from Sierra Wireless will match the S720's pricing, going out the door for $100 after signing on the dotted line. Expect both cards to drop before the end of the year, but until someone can show that the Pantech is demonstrably worse than its stablemates, we're really liking the sound of "free."
Sierra Wireless to offer HSDPA, EV-DO Rev A via USB
Not a day's passed after we caught word of Sprint's launch of Novatel's S720 PC Card do we hear that Sierra Wireless has a proverbial one-two punch of WWAN modems up its sleeve, this time of the USB variety. First up in Q4 of this year will be the 595U, an EV-DO Revision A device topping out at a purely-theoretical 3.1Mbps downstream, followed by the quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA 875U humming along at 3.6Mbps in Q1 2007. Both USB modems look to be coming in sleek little packages with internal antennas and matching cradles, support location-based services, and have upgradeable firmware. If these things really look as slick as the press shots make them out to be, we may not be whining for a Rev A ExpressCard after all -- if the ship dates hold up, that is.[Via Macworld]
Sprint first US carrier with EV-DO Rev A hardware
Their EV-DO Revision A network might not be ready for prime time until Q4 at the earliest, but no one can fault Sprint for not having modems in the pipeline when they do eventually flip the switch. The just-launched S720 from Novatel Wireless offers glorious downstream speeds of up to 850Kbps in a PC Card form factor -- sad news for MacBook Pro users needing an ExpressCard, but we have to believe Sprint will have you guys covered before too terribly long. Look for the S720 at your friendly local Sprint retailer for $99.99 on a 2-year contract, though without much live Rev A infrastructure, there's no rush to upgrade from your trusty Rev 0 equipment just yet.[Via phoneArena]
Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A rollout to begin in Q4
Perhaps spurred on by Verizon's rollout schedule -- or the increasingly present threat of Cingular's HSDPA coverage -- Sprint's decided to light a fire under its EV-DO Rev. A rollout plans, promising coverage for a population of 40 million by year end. The upgrade from their existing Rev. 0 network should offer average download speeds of 450-800kbps with a theoretical maximum of 3.1Mbps, up from 300-400Kbps and 1.8Mbps, respectively. Though the upgrade won't likely cause many folks to join the bandwagon, it's a welcome boost for existing subscribers looking to match (or surpass, depending on who you ask) HSDPA performance. Look for the rollout to complete in Q3 2007, with availability of Rev. A handsets and PC peripherals (including an ExpressCard flavor) this fall.[Via phoneArena]
Qualcomm: EV-DO Rev. A VoIP good to go
VoIP over EV-DO Rev. A, the technology stack that effectively killed EV-DV, has been given Qualcomm's blessing this week, possibly clearing one of the last remaining roadblocks to Sprint and Verizon getting this show on the road. Of course, the big draw for VoIP over EV-DO is simultaneous voice and data, a feature where UMTS currently has EV-DO squarely beat. To get the seal of approval, Qualcomm went big with 62 simultaneous VoIP calls on a single channel in "mobile, pedestrian and fixed" environments. Picture sixty-two Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guys standing in the area of one city block, and you'll get the idea.[Via dailywireless.org]
