Testing affirms Verizon Wireless's DO network claims

A test of Verizon Wireless’s new CDMA 1xEV-DO services reveal that the new wide area broadband services meet the DSL/cable modem speeds the carrier had promised.

RBC Capital Markets last Wednesday conducted a test of 20 locations in metropolitan San Diego (one of two markets where Verizon Wireless has deployed the service) and logged an average download speed of 329 kb/s, both at a standstill and while moving. Of the tests, 78% of the readings came in over 300 kb/s and some were as high as 485 kb/s, putting Verizon well within the 300 kb/s to 500 kb/s range it had advertised, said Jonathan Atkin, RBC research analyst.

“We conducted the tests on the day of the launch so we were on a relatively uncongested network,” Atkin said, “but it proved to be very reliable and fast. If Verizon properly maintains and engineers this network, they should be able to keep these speeds easily.”

Verizon Wireless commercially launched EV-DO (data only) services in Washington, D.C., and San Diego last Wednesday, making it the first major wireless carrier to deploy true third-generation broadband services in the country. The carrier has announced no plans to expand beyond the initial two cities, but Verizon officials said if take-up rates in both cities are positive they will consider new markets. Priced at a flat rate of $80 a month for unlimited access, the service is targeted to enterprise and business users. Verizon Wireless is touting its ability to meld with corporate VPN and work with all security protocols.

The 1xEV-DO architecture is essentially a line card and software update in existing CDMA base stations. Unlike its predecessor cdma20001x though, the technology is capable of handing only high volumes of downstream data traffic, not voice. Verizon Wireless has to designate specific data channels for the service, a reason why fellow CDMA carrier Sprint PCS has opted to bypass the service in favor of future 1xEV-DV technologies, which can handle data and voice over the same channels.

RBC did not test Verizon Wireless EV-DO networks in Washington, and Atkins said the company has not made plans to do so. It has tested Monet Networks’ EV-DO launch in Duluth, Minn., however, reporting high but more inconsistent results. Monet’s service yielded 300+ kb/s speeds at only 50% of the testing locations in November 2002. During RBC’s San Diego test of Verizon’s network, Atkins also tested speeds offered by the carrier’s parallel 1x RTT network, discovering an average throughput rate of 90 kb/s.