CTIA: Verizon merges hi-speed CDMA, Wi-Fi

By Patrick Mannion
iApplianceWeb
(03/21/03, 11:19:58 PM EDT)

New Orleasns, La. - At the CTIA here Verizon announced it would roll out CDMA 1xEV-DO service at 2.4 Mbits/s for enterprise customers. It also said it would complement the service with Wi-Fi hotspot access through Wayport Inc.

The 1xEV-DO service will start in the third quarter in Washington and San Diego using equipment supplied by Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks, respectively. Service trials began in 2002, and Verizon said it would now expand services within those two locations.

The combination of Wi-Fi and CDMA 1xEV-DO is an extension of what Dick Lynch, Verizon's executive vice president and chief technical officer, said is a redefinition of service to business customers.

"We're used to operating on the basis that the business customer is the same as the consumer in that we'd supply the service and they'd figure out how to use it," Lynch said during a briefing at CTIA. "That's not how it should be done."

Instead, Lynch said, Verizon will work with Lucent, Nortel and Wayport to offer ubiquitous high-speed wireless access with advanced enterprise-oriented services such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and office messenger alerts.

"Customers need to go beyond voice," said Lynch. "They need an extension of the office environment and we intend to offer that."

Verizona also said it would consolidate services on a single bill. Multiple accounts is just one of the billing issues that has traditionally been cited as a barrier to wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) and cellular convergence.

Despite the combined 1xEV-DO/Wi-Fi (802.11b at 11 Mbits/s) service, Verizon has no immediate plans to implement a single, dual-radio device. However, Lynch did say Verizon was examining at least two potential providers of such a device. Companies such as G-Tran have been offering combined CDMA/Wi-Fi products for some time. Instead, Verizon will for now sell 1xEV-DO PCMCIA cards, modems and handheld devices.

It currently has over 200 1xEV-DO cell sites in the Washington area and will offer a fall-back service to 1XRTT.

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