Sprint PCS joins the third-generation cellular rush in the U.S. by committing a billion dollars to building a 1xEV-DO network: The company had previously signaled its interest in waiting and then deploying an EVDV (data/voice) network that might have had higher download speeds and integrated voice into the same 3G footprint. Now they say that some markets will have their brand of service year's end with many more in 2005.
Cingular, meanwhile said today that UMTS could appear as soon as next year. Cingular had recently expressed doubts that with the current available spectrum they could deploy 3G data networks before 2006. Now, they plan a trial of two kinds of UTMS: one operates at 384 Kbps (unclear if this is the rated speed or the typical speed), and another at up to 14.4 Mbps. That's megabits per second. Trials will start in Atlanta this summer, and extend in 2005 to the rest of the country.
AT&T Wireless, which Cingular is in the middle of acquiring, has reiterated its plans in the last few months to try UMTS's W-CDMA flavor in a few cities by the end of 2004. T-Mobile's plans are obscure, but EDGE (2.5G/100 Kbps) should be on its way. Nextel will most likely pursue a private cell data plan with higher speeds but that use none of the popular flavors.
Suddenly, some towns with no-better-than-modem wireless speeds could have four competing cellular data networks with 100 to 400 Kbps average download speeds. (All of these flavors ostensibly have restricted uploads of about 50 Kbps, however.) Expect price competition. At $80 per month flat for Verizon Wireless's high-speed network, the race to the bottom will start in earnest. Verizon Wireless will still likely have a leg up by offering service first in most competitive cities.