Qualcomm Looks to EV-DO Revision B

With EV-DO Revision A deployments well underway, Qualcomm on Monday debuted a new chipset for Revision B that is said to have reached average data speeds of 9.3Mpbs in field trials.

At that data rate, a mobile data connection would be roughly the same as that of a current cable modem connection. Qualcomm says its chipset, called the Mobile Station Modem MSM7850, is the first device solution for EV-DO Rev. B.

"The evolution of CDMA2000 networks from EV-DO Rev. A to EV-DO Rev. B allows network operators to remain leading-edge in their service and performance offerings without the need for any infrastructure hardware changes," Qualcomm chief operating officer Dr. Sanjay Jha said in a statement.

MSM7850 chips feature full backwards compatibility, the company said. Qualcomm also plans to make a software upgrade available for its Cell Site Modem CSM6800 chipset to enable it to use Rev. B networks in March of this year.

Forward link data rates could reach as high as 73.5Mbps in high-performance devices, while most standard devices should average around 4.9Mbps. That type of speed would enable services such as mobile TV and streaming music while placing and receiving voice calls, or simultaneous VoIP and Internet browsing, among other uses.

"Qualcomm's technology will allow 3G CDMA networks to meet next-generation data requirements," Dr. Jha said.

The San Diego, Calif. based mobile technology company continues to push CDMA as the technology of choice for high-speed data. While GSM continues to push its WCDMA and HSDPA standards, 3G CDMA based-networks for the most part are still able to provide higher data speeds.