With LTE a few years out yet, Alltel needs something to get it over the 3.5G hump -- and seeing how it's presently a CDMA carrier, you can pretty much guess where this is going. Sure enough, Verizon's newest partner in crime has announced that the rollout of its EV-DO Rev. A upgrade is now underway, promising a bump in downlink speeds from 400-700kbps on the existing Rev. 0 network to somewhere between 600kbps and 1.4Mbps. Uplink speeds are where Rev. A really shines, though, blazing as much as ten times faster than it did before -- 800kbps on a good day with bursts of up to 1.8Mbps. Two data cards are being offered to take advantage of the service -- one from Huawei and one from UTStarcom -- while compatible handsets currently include the HTC PPC6800 and Touch. The rollout is targeted for "select markets" right now -- Charlotte, New Orleans, Phoenix and Tampa among a total of 18 -- with overall EV-DO coverage continuing to expand as well; Alltel's targeting 82 percent of its footprint to be upgraded by year's end.

Make us proud, Alltel! The number five carrier's really been going all-out as of late, doing an impressive job of keeping its offerings in line with the big boys -- and in some cases, outdoing 'em with hot exclusives like the Glimmer. Once again, they've gotten the jump on their larger, heavier competition by becoming the first carrier to release a firmware upgrade for the Vogue (the Alltel Touch, in this case) that ups the radio to EV-DO Rev. A speeds. Speedy uploads aside, the upgrade includes some Bluetooth fixes and adds the ability to receive video messages. Sprint, Verizon -- your move.

[Via phoneArena]

Bell Mobility of Canada has announced that customers can sign up for its new unlimited data plans for $75 CAD (about $74) per month. The service is only available with wireless modems, so tethering is a negative. The data speeds are right up there with those in the States and is delivered via EV-DO Rev. A courtesy of Bell. Customers can choose between three different modems: the Sierra Wireless AC595, the Novatel U720, and the Novatel P720. Seeing how it used to cost $100 for 1GB of data, the boys and girls at Bell seem to be getting the bigger picture.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

If the Canucks out there have been getting a bit jealous at all the Rev A love going around down south, your resentment ends now -- well, sometime this year, anyway. Thanks to Telus and Sierra Wireless, EV-DO Rev A connectvitiy is headed to Canada in the coming months, as interested users will be able to pop the AirCard 595 into their laptop's PCMCIA slot and reportedly reach peak speeds of up to 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8Mbps upstream. Of course, it is noted that typical speeds will range between 300 to 400Kbps whilst uploading, and 450 to 800Kbps on the downward slope, but you Canadians will probably take what you can get, eh? Unfortunately, there's no set dates for the future rollouts, and "select markets" is all we have to go on for availability, but we do know that Telus will be charging $349.99 for the AirCard 595 sans a contract, or you can lock yourself in for a whopping three years if you've only got $99.99 to spare.

For some, "EV-DO Rev. 0 versus UMTS" and "EV-DO Rev. A versus HSDPA" are the eternal questions when it comes to picking one's 3G poison. Samsung, on the other hand, seems to be asking what we think is the right question: why not both? The SCH-W210 slider preferentially rolls on HSDPA for video calling goodness, but when roaming outside of the coverage area, EV-DO is used as a fallback (ha, EV-DO as a "fallback," that's a good one) so high-speed data is never too far away. Features include an S-DMB receiver, QVGA display, 2-megapixel rear and VGA front cams, microSD expansion, and TV out. We don't expect this thing to find its way too far outside South Korean borders, but we can dare to dream.

$85 sounds like a pretty solid deal for a Boingo WiFi account plus unlimited EV-DO, doesn't it? It would, if the 3G part of Helio's Hybrid package was, in fact, unlimited. Alas, Wi-Fi Networking News uncovered the rather startling fact that Helio is considering anything above and beyond 160MB per month to be "excessive or abusive." To be fair, Helio isn't advertising the Hybrid's 3G data to be unlimited -- in which case 2GB or more of monthly access would be typically considered the norm without getting yourself in hot water -- but then again, they aren't doing a very good job of making it clear on their site that the soft cap comes in at 160MB, either. Helio is apparently expecting Hybrid customers to spend the lion's share of their time doing the WiFi thing, but even still, we know a couple Engadget editors that could blow through 160MB in a few hours. How about a real, honest-to-goodness all-you-can-eat plan for a few bucks more a month, guys?

[Via Wi-Fi Network News]

Their EV-DO Revision A network might not be ready for prime time until Q4 at the earliest, but no one can fault Sprint for not having modems in the pipeline when they do eventually flip the switch. The just-launched S720 from Novatel Wireless offers glorious downstream speeds of up to 850Kbps in a PC Card form factor -- sad news for MacBook Pro users needing an ExpressCard, but we have to believe Sprint will have you guys covered before too terribly long. Look for the S720 at your friendly local Sprint retailer for $99.99 on a 2-year contract, though without much live Rev A infrastructure, there's no rush to upgrade from your trusty Rev 0 equipment just yet.

[Via phoneArena]

Perhaps spurred on by Verizon's rollout schedule -- or the increasingly present threat of Cingular's HSDPA coverage -- Sprint's decided to light a fire under its EV-DO Rev. A rollout plans, promising coverage for a population of 40 million by year end. The upgrade from their existing Rev. 0 network should offer average download speeds of 450-800kbps with a theoretical maximum of 3.1Mbps, up from 300-400Kbps and 1.8Mbps, respectively. Though the upgrade won't likely cause many folks to join the bandwagon, it's a welcome boost for existing subscribers looking to match (or surpass, depending on who you ask) HSDPA performance. Look for the rollout to complete in Q3 2007, with availability of Rev. A handsets and PC peripherals (including an ExpressCard flavor) this fall.

[Via phoneArena]

If talking into your laptop is your thing, Sierra Wireless' new line of 3G PCI Express mini cards are poised to make your day. Available in HSDPA 2100 with 1.8Mbps downstream, 3.6Mbps HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100, and 3.1Mbps EV-DO rev. A flavors, the cards go beyond the typical WWAN data devices for your PC by offering voice capability as well. Though we're sure the intended use here is via a wired or Bluetooth headset, we can't help but chuckle at the thought of holding a telephone conversation by holding your laptop to your head all flip-phone style.

[Via Slashphone]

Remember the news that a Korean government-appointed panel had recommended revocation of LG Telecom's right to 3G on the 2GHz band? Well, it happened. Interestingly, investors think this is great news for the company, pushing its stock sharply upward on the news -- possibly because the technology for which the license was issued has failed to become a commercial success. LG Telecom now looks to instead deploy EV-DO rev. A on the more widely-accepted 1.8GHz band, but at any rate, Korea takes their 3G deployments seriously -- per regulation, the government is now pressing for CEO Nam Yong's removal.

[Via Mobile Magazine]

If you're thinking about picking up LG's Fusic (otherwise known as the LG550) you might want to block off some time to read Phone Scoop's incredibly thorough review. The handset, which is available now from Sprint, gets high marks for design and advanced features like excellent battery life, A2DP and an FM transmitter, but is hurt by the fact both music players (one for songs purchased from the Sprint Music Store and one for everything else) can't multitask, so if you need to check your texts, you'll have to do it in silence. The review goes on to admit that even with interchangeable faceplates and a very familiar scroll wheel, the Fusic is geared more toward the occasional listener than the audiophile, so don't go making a spot in the junk drawer just yet.

Novatel's announced that their EV-DO-rocking Merlin XV620 Wireless ExpressCard has gotten approved by the PCMCIA trade association, making it the first EV-DO ExpressCard on the market -- albeit a bit later than the rumored May launch. Still, the news should please users with a laptop that has an ExpressCard/34 slot but no built-in 3G support, who can now take advantage of the speedy, although somewhat pricey EV-DO network, getting data speeds up to 2.4 Mbps. Now, one of the biggest markets for the card would seem to be MacBook Pro users, but according to Novatel's website the XV620 only supports Windows XP and 2000. Which means Mac users will either have to forego their precious OS for the unfamiliar waters of Windows via Boot Camp or wait who knows how long for Novatel to release some native Mac drivers.