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Thursday February 1, 2007
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Verizon Wireless announced the Rev. A upgrade to their high-speed EV-DO network today, which laptop owners will be able to access with new versions of the Sierra Wireless AirCard 595 PC Card and Novatel U720 USB dongle, both available tomorrow.
EV-DO Rev. A, which was launched by Sprint last year, is the fastest wireless network available in the US and the only one to offer truly robust upload speeds. In my tests with Sprint's network, I got average download speeds of 1.01 Mbps and uploads of 337 Kbps, with upload peaks over 800 Kbps.
If you aren't using a Rev. A device, you'll get the good old EVDO speeds you're used to in Rev. A areas. There's no extra charge for the faster speeds. Verizon is charging more than Sprint does for the USB dongle, though: $149.99 with a two-year contract (Sprint charges $49.99 including a rebate.) The AirCard is $99.99 with a two-year contract from both carriers. And no, there aren't any Rev A phones yet, though I've seen some prototypes.
According to Verizon Wireless, the following markets will get Rev. A first:
- Boston and suburbs
- Richmond and Hampton Roads, VA
- Chicago and suburbs out to Gary, IN
- Utah, including Salt Lake City
- All EV-DO areas in Florida
Sprint's Rev A is currently available in dozens of cities, so Verizon has some catching up to do. Somehow, I'm pretty sure they'll make up for lost time.
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February 1, 2007 1:52 PM
Ask and you shall recieve, eh? We were just wondering about this. Glad to hear the news, now I just want to know how many arms and legs Verizon will charge me to use the service.
February 1, 2007 2:40 PM
Though Verizon launched their Rev-A network, the cities they've officially listed aren't the only places they have Rev-A turned on at. There are quite a few major markets they aren't announcing yet, for whatever reason. See for yourself by checking out a cool new google mashup at http://www.EVDOmaps.com
February 2, 2007 4:18 AM
Verizon kills people's service if you use it very much - not for hosting web sites mind you, which would be reasonable, but just plain old surfing & email a couple hours a day and they'll kill your account. You are allowed 5 GB/mo, or roughly 180 MB/day, and if you've ever actually tracked the bits, you know it's easy to exceed this. One long business trip connecting from a client site all day & you're burnt. It's been widely reported and complaints by burned users are rampant - DO NOT subscribe to Verizon data if you plan to use it more than a few minutes a day.
February 8, 2007 12:40 AM
Attention Verizon Wireless Broadband Victims:
I have commenced a Class Action lawsuit in California against Verizon Wireless for their deceptive advertising and business tactics regarding their broadband wireless service using their "AirCard."
If there are any victims whose service has been terminated in 2006, please contact me at dinomzaffina@earthlink.net and I will lead you in the right direction to be part of the class to fight back.
Dino M. Zaffina, J.D.
March 2, 2007 11:59 PM
Looking for an aircard with the cheapest service. Can you recommend, thx.
Larry
March 25, 2007 10:05 PM
Dont know the specifics of the suit above but nobody is worse than Alltel....in just about every area of service...