Verizon Expands 3G Service In L.A.Verizon Expands 3G Service In L.A.

Verizon Wireless said Friday that it has significantly expanded its 3G 1xEV-DO service in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

The company said in a statement that the 1xEV-DO service, which it calls BroadbandAccess, is now available in almost all of Los Angeles County and in portions of neighboring Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The service provides typical speeds of between 300 Kbps and 500 Kbps, according to the wireless operator. Overall, the service covers about 4400 square miles of southern California, according to Verizon.

The service previously was available in most of Orange County and San Diego as well as large portions of Los Angeles County. It also has been quietly rolling out the service in other metropolitan areas. In addition to the Los Angeles area, the 1xEV-DO service is available 17 other metropolitan areas and 26 airports.

Verizon Wireless looks to be the first U.S. wireless carrier to complete a nationwide rollout of fast wireless service, saying it will be rolled out in most major metropolitan areas by the end of next summer. In its statement Friday, it took a swipe at competing technologies, most notably Wi-Fi hotspots.

"In BroadbandAccess cities wireless consumers are no longer restrained by the limitations of technologies that anchor them to wireless 'hot spots' inside hotel lobbies and coffee shops to get high Internet access speeds," said Jonathan LeCompte, acting regional president of Verizon Wireless. "That's because BroadbandAccess is about miles of coverage, not square feet."