Verizon Starts Speedy Wireless Web Access
September 29, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 5:25 p.m. ET
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.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-High-Speed-Wireless.html?ex=1065919318&ei=1&en=9dcbd09c1c99a9a0
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