Sprint is one step closer to the launch of its advanced high speed EV-DO network, promising speeds up to 2.4Mbps and possibly ushering in a period where cellular phone networks compete with other broadband internet service providers. Within the next week, Sprint will release what is known as Preferred Roaming List (PRL) 10027.
For those who are not CDMA-savvy, a PRL generally acts as a network map that is resident in the memory of every CDMA-based cell phone (in the US, that would be Sprint PCS, Verizon, Virgin Mobile, Alltel, and a few other carrier’s cell phones). Normally, this map provides information on which entworks are “home” networks, and which are “roaming” networks. Further, the PRL goes on to tell the phone which roaming networks it should try to make calls on first, based on who is giving the home carrier a better price at that particular time.
This new PRL, 10027, will go a step farther. It will add code which indicates to Sprint phones which of these networks are capable of 1xEV-DO data speeds, along with various other features. This is critical to the launch of high speed services, as the phone must know where it can and can’t use those higher data speeds.
Now, it’s important to realize that this is just one small step in launching EV-DO. Contrary to what some other Sprint-centric sites are reporting, this does not mean that Sprint is launching EV-DO tomorrow. Cell sites still need to be updated, phones need to be introduced to the market that can actually take advantage of the higher speeds, and of course, Sprint still has to decide how it wants to price the new sevice.