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Verizon Wireless to let Internet users speed up

Posted on: Friday, 9 January 2004, 06:00 CST

Verizon Wireless said Thursday that it would spend $1 billion to deploy an advanced data network that will allow customers to use the Internet at high speeds on mobile phones and other devices, including laptop computers.

The move escalates a game of one-upmanship among the leading U.S. mobile phone companies, which are seeking to outdo one another in offering faster data services.

It also underscores how technology is allowing telecommunications companies to expand beyond their core businesses. The data network that Verizon Wireless plans to deploy will be almost as fast as high- speed Internet access offered through traditional telephone or cable lines, analysts said.

The announcement came a day after Verizon, which owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, said it would spend $2 billion by the end of 2005 to upgrade its land-line network to better carry voice, data and video transmissions at once.

Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon, said in an interview that the moves reflected a fundamental shift at the company toward focusing on data services. This pushes us away from being voice- centric, he said. We're moving away from the legacy business.

The moves by Verizon and Verizon Wireless were not unexpected, according to analysts, who pointed out that competitors were making similar steps to upgrade their networks.

Roger Entner, an analyst with Yankee Group, said AT&T Wireless currently has the fastest data network, which permits users to download data at about 100 to 130 kilobits per second, about twice as fast as a 56 kbps dial-up connection. Verizon Wireless expects to offer speeds of 300 to 500 kilobits per second, which is comparable to typical download speeds on high-speed telephone digital subscriber lines or cable modem lines, he said.

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