Verizon to start 3G rollout this year

From...

By George A. Chidi

(IDG) -- The race is on between Sprint and Verizon Wireless to roll out 3G (third-generation) wireless services in the United States. Verizon Wireless announced Wednesday that it would deploy 1XRTT wireless network services capable of 144Kbps data transmissions in the New York/New Jersey area near its Bedminster, N.J., headquarters by year's end.

The network is already in place, according to the company, but 3G handsets have not yet been fully tested. The company expects to have the 3G cell phones in hand in the fourth quarter.

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Sprint continues to affirm plans to migrate to 3G services by the end of the year, with a limited rollout in a yet-to-be-named city and full deployment by the middle of 2002.

Last month AT&T Wireless announced the availability of GPRS (general packet radio services) in the Seattle area. GPRS is considered 2.5G services -- slower than 3G but an improvement over the current generation of wireless data transmissions.