 |
|
DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
|
Breaking News -
Networking:
Verizon Wireless Announces Roll
Out Of National 3G Network
Verizon Wireless, a leader in next generation technology deployment, will
begin immediately to expand its BroadbandAccess service nationally. Powered by
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) third generation wide-area network,
BroadbandAccess commercial service, with average user speeds of 300-500
kilobits per second (kbps), is expected to be available in many major U.S.
cities this summer.
Denny Strigl, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, said, "Verizon
Wireless
has earned the reputation as the nation's most reliable wireless service
provider because of our focus on our network. Building on that success, we are
offering BroadbandAccess to our business and individual customers who are
ready to move to the next level of mobile communications: tremendous speed,
rich graphic content, video, music and more. In announcing the national
expansion of this exciting new service, we pledge to remain relentless in our
pursuit of providing the highest quality voice and data services."
Verizon Wireless 3G Network Benefits
BroadbandAccess, the fastest commercial wide-area wireless data technology
available today, is based on CDMA technology-a digital wireless technology
commercially developed by QUALCOMM. Since October 2003, BroadbandAccess has
been successfully deployed in Washington, D.C., with Lucent Technologies, and
in San Diego with Nortel Networks. This high-speed data network will be
available to business and individual customers beginning in the summer of 2004
throughout significant portions of the Verizon Wireless national footprint,
with additional markets phased in through 2005. Because it is backward
compatible-a distinct advantage to using CDMA technology-customers who travel
outside a BroadbandAccess area with an EV-DO device will seamlessly switch to
Verizon Wireless' existing NationalAccess network, based on 1xRTT technology.
In addition to its ongoing annual capital investment program to build network
capacity and coverage, the company expects to invest $1 billion over the next
two years to deploy its EV-DO technology nationally.
Initial Success For Broadband Wireless
"As the first carrier to commercially launch wide-area broadband wireless
data
service in major markets, we have been extremely successful. Verizon Wireless
BroadbandAccess customers in Washington D.C. and San Diego have told us the
technology has improved their productivity and their ability to respond more
quickly to their customers' needs," said Dick Lynch, executive vice president
and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless. "Not only will the expansion
of our BroadbandAccess service solidify our position as the leader in wireless
data innovation, but more importantly it will allow our customers to benefit
from this high-speed data service in even more places."
New And Improved Applications For Business And Individual Customers
Later this year Verizon Wireless customers in many major markets will be
able
to use new EV-DO handsets and laptops equipped with PC cards to enjoy the many
new fun and visual capabilities. They will be able to experience Get It Now
applications at broadband speed including multi-player gaming, music and video
content, video messaging and other multi-media applications.
Working with virtual private network (VPN) connections, enterprise
customers
can use BroadbandAccess as an extension of their corporate local area network
(LAN) or intranet, allowing them to work from any location within the
BroadbandAccess coverage area, as if they were in the office. BroadbandAccess,
with average user speeds of 300-500 kbps, is ideal for downloading files and
business-critical information residing behind corporate firewalls and for
accessing e-mail, intranets and the Internet. BroadbandAccess uses CDMA EV-DO
technology that has its own data protection and authentication and is designed
to work with a business' existing IT infrastructure and security
solutions.
"The fast, simple access that BroadbandAccess provides is changing the way
the
corporate world views wireless data. Not only is it easy to use, it is also
easy for IT departments to install and maintain and requires only the same
level of customer support as wired high-speed access," said Andrew Seybold,
principal in Outlook4Mobility and editor-in-chief of Andrew Seybold's Wireless
Outlook. "American consumers, who are already embracing new camera phones,
will be blown away by the ways EV-DO enriches their wireless experiences.
Imagine sharing video clips of special occasions with loved ones hundreds of
miles away, or being able to participate in video calls with the important
people in our lives. Verizon Wireless is on the path to the equivalent of the
'holy grail' in the wireless data world."
Enterprise customers can access information when they are on the road -- at
customer locations, at job sites, in taxis, or on trains -- faster than with
any competing technology. With data transmission bursts up to above 2 Megabits
per second, BroadbandAccess customers could download a 1MB e-mail attachment
(for example, a small PowerPoint presentation or a large PDF file), or receive
three digital pictures (each 400 x 600 pixels) in less than 30 seconds, which
is three to four times faster than using EDGE service, and as much as 10 times
faster than on a competitor's GPRS network.
|