Alltel: Now with more Rev. A

Faster than a speeding bullet 1xRTT, more power than a locomotive mere EVDO, Alltel is rolling out EVDO Rev. A, just in time for its little coming out party with Verizon.

What should you expect, if you're one of the lucky ones?

• Download speeds in the neighborhood of 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps, with bursts up to 3.1 Mbps. That's increased from an average of 400-700 Kbps.
• Much higher upload speeds, at 1.8Mbps on a really good day, compared to the 50-70 Kbps you're getting now.

Of course, this won't cover everybody at first, with Charlotte, N.C., New Orleans, Phoenix and Tampa first in line for the upgrade. Alltel says the expansion should cover about 82 percent of potential customers by the end of 2008.

And you'll still need a Rev. A-capable device. Alltel is pimping a couple of laptop cards, the Huawei EC228 USB and the UTStarcom UM 150. Or, you could finally do that ROM update for the HTC Touch or the 6800.

The upgraded service (and regular EVDO) will cost you $59.999 a month, with or without voice plan.