I read an interesting article on 3GNewswire today on the adoption of 3G technologies and the different approaches each carrier is taking. One detail I found of particular interest was that Verizon allows their EVDO network customers to roam onto their extensive 1XRTT network when out of range which would be frequently if you either live or travel outside of the 4 markets into which it has been initially launched. I’m puzzled by why that would be left out as part of any real PR on the launch. This would potentially enable a greater group to try the service, knowing that they would be able to still connect to the previous service, even if it is slower…when out of range in their home markets.
This strategy worked for the launch of digital cellular and is the reason why the Verizon network is superior to many others including Sprint who also uses CDMA for their network since Verizon maintains the analog spectrum on most of their phones.