Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A rollout to begin in Q4
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Aug 3rd 2006 12:57PM
posted Aug 3rd 2006 12:57PM
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]
And it's all worthless unless they've got a decent PDA phone that will actually use it. An HTC Excalibur variant with CDMA and EVDO Rev.A might fit the bill. Hint, hint!
well, as with everything in life, there is a trade-off here.
would you rather have verizon's reliable and large ev-do r.0 network and JDP&A top-ranking customer service, or a spotty, highway-only ev-do r.a network with the crap-bot being your customer service specialist?
maybe sprint should dedicate q4 to hiring some actual customer service reps, not revamping a network that still needs fixing.
I have a feeling that the unbelievably low $15 per month Unlimited Power Vision will be a thing of the past after this rolls out.
Sprint! Ouch!!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060803/bs_nm/telecoms_sprint_earns_dc_5
I find this great news as the current speed is not appropriate for the kinds of downloads we are starting to see. Larger software, bigger megapixel photos, audio/video streaming and podcast downloads. I've also found that more and more people are attaching larger files to email ... faster speed will certainly help. BUT ... I'm still disappointed with the upload speeds ... see: http://blog.myarchive.us/?p=406
(BTW ... did I mention 'tethering?')