Data service will be available in Washington, San Diego SAN FRANCISCO – Verizon Wireless Inc. on Wednesday will launch a commercial data service in two U.S. metropolitan areas that typically will deliver several times the speed of a dial-up connection, a spokeswoman for the carrier confirmed Monday.The service, which will be available throughout Verizon’s Washington, D.C., and San Diego metropolitan coverage areas, will offer typical rates of 300K bps (bits per second) to 500K bps, with burst rates up to 2M bps, according to Andrea Linskey, a spokeswoman for Verizon, in Bedminster, New Jersey. Those speeds will be available to customers whether they are sitting in one place or moving in a vehicle, she said.Customers will pay $79.99 per month for unlimited use, she said. The PC5220 access card from Sierra Wireless Inc., for use in the PC Card slot of a notebook PC, will cost $149 after a $100 mail-in rebate, she said. The service uses CDMA2000 (Code Division Multiple Access) 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Only). Outside the EV-DO coverage areas, customers will be able to use the same card to access Verizon’s CDMA2000 1x service, which offers typical speeds of 70K bps to 80K bps, according to the carrier. Verizon offers that slower service in all its service areas in the U.S., also for $79.99 per month for unlimited use.Verizon Wireless will consider rolling out EV-DO in other metropolitan areas depending on response to the service in Washington and San Diego. Software DevelopmentTechnology Industry