BRUCE MEYERSON AP Business Writer
September 30, 2003
NEW YORK (AP) - Verizon Wireless is launching a faster generation of wireless Internet access in two cities, Washington and San Diego, promising download speeds between five and 10 times quicker than dial-up service and the typical cellular-based data connections currently available.
The new service, which costs $79.99 per month and requires a special laptop card, is not as fast as a wireless data connection using the popular Wi-Fi technology. But it can provide coverage over a much wider area than Wi-Fi, whose current range is limited to about 300 feet.
Verizon Wireless, owned jointly by Verizon Communications and Britain's Vodafone, would not say when it plans to introduce the speedier service in other markets around the nation. The carrier is using equipment from Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks to upgrade its national cellular network.
Most of the nation's big mobile phone companies are upgrading their networks to deliver faster data connections for laptop users, but the process has been costly, complex and time-consuming. Cingular Wireless recently introduced a next-generation service in Indianapolis, and AT&T Wireless plans to launch the service nationally by year's end.
In addition to improving laptop connections, cellular companies hope snappier data services will eventually boost sales of a new generation of multimedia-capable phones so Web surfing on a handset is finally practical.
The first phase of next-generation cellular technologies, rolled out to customers last year, disappointed many users in terms of speed, offering downloads that rarely surpassed a telephone dial-up connection.
As a result, many cell phone companies have embraced Wi-Fi to deliver faster wireless connections in at least some locations, such as cafes and airport terminals, that valuable business customers frequent.
But they have also pressed ahead with plans to deploy speedier service over their cellular networks, which offer the advantage of covering far more territory compared with a Wi-Fi signal.
Verizon said its service will deliver average speeds of between 300 and 500 kilobits of data per second, on par with the wired broadband connections provided by DSL and cable TV.
During off-peak network usage, the Verizon service could provide speeds 20-to-40 time faster than dialup, which has a maximum capacity of 56 kbps.
In theory, the technology Verizon continues to use on the rest of its cellular network is capable of delivering speeds of up to 144 kbps. In practice, however, download speeds tend to average between 40 and 70 kbps, depending on the customer's location and the number of other subscribers using the network.
The next phase of service due from Cingular and AT&T Wireless, which use a different wireless technology than Verizon, is slated top provide average downloads of 130-to-150 kbps with a maximum speed of 384 kbps.
Instead of mixing voice and data traffic, the new ``1xEVDO'' technology deployed by Verizon in Washington and San Diego allocates a specific portion of the company's wireless spectrum to data.
The laptop card required to access the 1xEVDO service, offered by Verizon at $150 after rebate, will also be compatible with the ``1xRTT'' technology that Verizon continues to use to transmit data elsewhere in the country, so users will not need to carry two wireless cards.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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