March 25, 2004

Verizon hooks up Wi-Fi alternative

USA Today: Two years ago in this column, tech rapper Eddie B came up with an alternative to a verse in a Verizon Wireless marketing brochure. The Verizon promo, for a new wireless network that connected laptop users to the Internet and their corporate e-mail, went: "Constantly on the go? Don't settle for slow."
My alter-ego's revisionist rhyme: "Makes dial-up modem at times seem fast. Connections that sadly do not always last."

I am not resurrecting Eddie B's short-lived career. And I subsequently had a better experience with the Verizon "1xRTT" network, as it is known in telecom jargon.

Now, Verizon is spending $1 billion building out a zippier backward-compatible nationwide network based on the same Qualcomm CDMA technology that is the core of 1xRTT. The network promises data speeds roughly comparable to what you'd get with a cable modem or DSL.

It may turn out to be a viable broadband wireless alternative to Wi-Fi for business travelers and consumers.
(full story)

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