Sprint and Alcatel-Lucent have announced that they've developed a comprehensive laptop security service called SprintSecure Laptop Guardian. This new service protects laptops via a special Mobile Broadband Connection Card called the OmniAccess 3500 which allows remote monitoring, tracking, and locking.

The OmniAccess 3500 has its own CPU, memory, SD Slot, and power supply that keeps it working even when the laptop is off. When inserted, it hijacks the TCP/IP stack and controls what information users can download. It then works with a gateway appliance which contains management software that IT administrators use to manage the system.

The card acts as a two-factor authentication key which is said to completely secure the laptop. To gain access to the data in the laptop, users will have to have the card inserted into its PCMCIA slot. If the laptop is stolen, it can be remotely controlled by an enterprise IT administrator via the card.

Here's a list of all the features of the SprintSecure Laptop Guardian:

• Access to laptop status regardless of the laptop’s power or online state
• Status of operating system, applications, policy enforcement and usage
• GPS-based capability (within the mobile broadband connection card) for laptop location
• Remote wipe or locking of data, if laptop is compromised
• Enforcement of policies for compliance
• Over-the-air software distribution

If you plan on picking up this product, expect the OmniAccess 3500 cards to be sold for around US$ 350. The extra security features has been tentatively priced at about US$ 10 to US$ 12 per month. If your laptops contain sensitive data you might want to consider this service as a way of protecting your information.

Current generation CDMA2000 1xEV-DO provides decent speeds in both directions (512 Down and 128 Up), with potential bursts up to 2Mbps when downloading. Unfortunately, problems with high latency, inefficiency and limited upload speeds have conspired to make this version of EV-DO into nothing more than another step in the evolution of the growing technology.

Revision A is the next step in the evolution of EV-DO. Verizon Wireless, having chosen to follow the CDMA/EV-DO path instead of the GPRS/EGDE path, is now faced with the challenge of upgrading its entire network to the newer Revision A standard of EV-DO. Verizon's decision to continue using Lucent to build and upgrade its network will be helpful to the upgrade process, since all of Verizon's current hardware and software was created by Lucent.

When the Revision A upgrade is complete, users of the network can expect to see download speeds increase to a maximum of about 3Mbps down and 1.8 up. The increased throughput comes with the additional side benefits of lower latency and a more efficient and better functioning network overall.

With the switch, Verizon plans to offer additional services to customers that will take full advantage of the network's new found robustness. Voice over IP, streamed video and other multimedia applications will be available that would not be possible without the upgrades to the network. Hopefully, they will also find a way to bring the price down and make the EULA's that we sign more fair!