Wifi Revolution

In preparation for the migration of its existing EV-DO network to even higher speed EV-DO Rev. A later this year, Sprint (News - Alert) has at its disposal two Rev. A products from Sierra Wireless (News - Alert). The wireless technology developer has announced it is ready with two wireless products that, in accordance with EV-DO Rev. A standards, will enable faster uploads and downloads — the Sierra Wireless AirCard 595 wireless broadband card and the Sierra Wireless MC5725 embedded mini card.

 

Sierra has already begun shipping the AC595 to Sprint, and the MC5725 PCI Express Mini Card embedded module been certified for use on the Sprint Power Vision Network.  Commercial shipments of the MC5725 are imminent.

 

Both new products from Sierra Wireless are fully compatible with Sprint’s existing Power Vision Network, and both will seamlessly migrate to the upgraded EV-DO Rev. A network as it becomes available. Spring estimates some 40 million people will have EV-DO Rev. A access available by the end of the year. The advantage Rev. A technology represents for customers is its capacity for speeding up average download speeds to 450-850 kbps and average upload speeds to 300-400 kbps.

 

The AirCard 595 is a Type II PCMCIA card that is capable of data transfer speeds up to 3.1 Mbps on the downlink and 1.8 Mbps on the uplink, so, even once Sprint has launched its Rev. A network, the Sierra products will still be future ready once even higher speeds are available on Sprint’s network.

 

The MC5725 PCI Express Mini Card improves data transfer rates similarly to the AC595, but it is designed to be integrated directly into notebook PCs and other portable computing devices to enable built-in wireless network access.

 

“EV-DO Revision A is a significant step forward for mobile data, as the increased uplink speed reduces sending delays and brings the user experience closer to a wired broadband experience,” said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales for Sierra Wireless.  “The AirCard 595 and the MC5725 take full advantage of these improvements, and we are pleased to support Sprint in its deployment of Revision A, to provide customers with future-ready solutions out of the box.”

 

The Sierra Wireless AirCard 595 will be sold through Sprint indirect and business sales channels and online at www.sprint.com for a suggested retail price of $249.99, though customers signing on with a two-year agreement with Sprint can get the card for $99.99.

 

 

 

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