Despite disappointing quarterly results, Sprint Nextel Corp. reaffirmed its commitment to upgrading its network to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A. The carrier said it plans to cover approximately 40 million potential customers with the higher-speed technology by the end of this year and have most of its network covered by third-quarter ’07.
The Rev. A upgrade is expected to boost data transmission uplink speeds from an average of 80 kilobits per second to between 300 and 400 kbps. Downlink speeds are also expected to see a boost from 300 to 500 kbps speeds to between 450 and 800 kbps.
The technology upgrade will also enable Sprint Nextel to move ahead with the merger of its iDEN/CDMA walkie-talkie services using Qualcomm Inc.’s QChat technology. Sprint Nextel said it plans to offer a variety of Rev. A compatible devices to go along with the upgrades, beginning with PC cards.
