Indonesia's Smart Telecom deploys world's first commercial EV-DO Rev. B network
You might think that the world's network operators have already sworn off EV-DO's development path as they move forward on 4G deployments, but that's not quite the case: Smart Telecom -- in the Indonesian isle of Bali, of all places -- has just secured its spot in history as the world's first carrier to roll out EV-DO Rev. B. In practical terms, that means subscribers with compatible equipment can expect up to 9.3Mbps down and 5.4Mbps up, a nice little boost from Rev. A's max of 3.1Mbps down and 1.8Mbps up. Only laptop modems will be available to Smart subscribers at first -- that's how it tends to go with new network technologies -- and it expects to complete the upgrade by the end of 2010. Verizon, Sprint, feeling any pangs of jealousy here?
