Verizon Wireless hints at Rev. A with new PC card

Verizon Wireless has introduced its first EV-DO Revision A device, a PC card that will be in stores by mid-January.
The Sierra Wireless AirCard 595 is already available online and through Verizon Wireless’ business sales channels. The card costs $100 after a $50 rebate, with a two-year customer agreement.
Although the carrier has declined to make any announcements about the status of its Revision A network rollout, Verizon Wireless said the new card “will be able to take advantage of the benefits of Revision A when and where it becomes available.” The carrier said an over-the-air download will enable the card to accommodate Rev A speeds.
The card will work on Verizon Wireless’ current EV-DO Rev. 0 and CDMA 1x data networks.
Verizon Wireless is in the process of building out a Rev. A network. Nortel Networks Ltd. said in July that it won a contract to supply Verizon Wireless with Rev. A equipment starting in the third quarter.
Sprint Nextel Corp. has so far beaten Verizon Wireless to the Rev. A punch. The third-largest U.S. carrier recently announced that it has extended Rev. A coverage to about 60 million potential customers-considerably more than the company’s publicly stated goal of having 40 million pops covered by the end of this year. Sprint Nextel also has several Rev. A PC cards available, although no handsets yet.