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Home > Wireless Internet > What Is EVDO?

What Is EVDO Technology?

Providing Broadband Speeds Over Existing CDMA Networks
by Richard Thomason - March 12th, 2009

EVDO is a telecommunications standard that provides wireless Internet subscribers with broadband speeds comparable to basic DSL. Basically, EVDO is broadband wireless Internet access through cell phone towers. Average download speeds range from 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps, but EVDO is still much faster than other forms of wireless Internet access, such as GPRS, EDGE, and standard CDMA networks.

The name, EVDO (also shown as EV-DO, 1xEvDO or 1xEV-DO), stands for "Evolution Data Optimized" although it was originally called "Evolution Data Only." It was developed back in 1999 by Qualcomm, and EVDO has since been deployed by Verizon and Sprint in most major metropolitan areas of the United States. EVDO Wireless Internet technology is also being highly used in Korea, but hasn't taken off in many other countries at this time.

 

Differences Between Rev-0 and Rev-A

When it was first launched, EVDO technology wasn't all that impressive. Some revisions have been implemented since it's inception that have increased the speeds and reduced the latency of EVDO connections in a measurable way. As of 2009, Rev-A is the standard for EVDO in the U.S., and average speeds of this current revision are as follows:

  • EVDO Rev-A Downstream: average 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps
  • EVDO Rev-A Upstream: average 300 Kbps to 800 Kbps

Under Rev-0, the average download speeds used to be 400 – 700 Kbps, and maximum possible speed bursts were 2.4 Mbps. With Rev-A technology, the maximum possible speeds are bursts up 3.1 Mbps. Also, latency is greatly reduced under the new Rev-A which makes for an even better mobile broadband experience.

Although EVDO's network technology is backward compatible, you probably want to make sure your connecting device (USB modem, PC Card, or ExpressCard) is Rev-A compatible or you will still experience slower Rev-0 speeds until you upgrade your device.

 

Verizon & Sprint EVDO Networks

Currently, Verizon and Sprint are the two biggest providers of EVDO networks. To use either of these EVDO networks, you would need the following:

  • a mobile device, such as your laptop computer
  • a connecting device, either a USB modem, PC Card, or ExpressCard
  • and a monthly subscription with the provider

The price for a connecting device will typically range from $50 to $150, depending upon which type you get. Remember, you have to one of Verizon's connecting devices to use Verizon's network, and the same for Sprint; you can't use one provider's device with the other's network. USB modems are the easiest to use, and the most affordable.

Monthly subscriptions will cost from $40/mo. to $60/mo. and the highest monthly limit you will see at this time is 5GB of data per month. You can go over that limit, but you will pay per megabyte. It is important to note that EVDO networks have very restrictive policies for usage. Any amount of heavy bandwidth use will mostly likely result in your EVDO plan being suspended. It's best to use this form of broadband wireless Internet mostly for sending email, Web browsing, and Intranet applications. Try to avoid large file downloads or video streaming while using your EVDO connection.

If you don't use an EVDO network, you primary choices become either signing up for the newer WiMAX Internet Service or finding a local WiFi Connection.

As of March 2009, Verizon still has the lead in EV-DO coverage. The company claims that "Our growing high-speed wireless network covers more than 260 million people in 258 major metropolitan areas and 244 primary airports in the United States." Verizon's EVDO network is 100% Rev-A. As of early 2009, Sprint is close to covering 200 million people and most of their network is also now Rev-A.

 
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