The nation's largest cellular carrier, with more than 29 million subscribers, won't say how many customers have signed up since the Jan. 28 start, but company spokesmen said the response has exceeded expectations.

"We're getting a very solid response," mainly from corporate users, said Howard Lerner, associate director of wireless data at Bedminster, N.J.-based Verizon. Corporate IT shops are often buying one or two PCMCIA Express Network cards for use in laptops to conduct tests, Verizon officials said.

There are also positive signs from companies such as San Diego-based integrator Wireless Knowledge that are using the faster network and passing on faster wireless data services to corporate end users.

The service is being provided in the San Francisco Bay area and Salt Lake City (for the Olympics), as well as on the East Coast between Portland, Maine, and Norfolk, Va. (see story). When announced in January, Verizon said speeds are expected to burst to 144K bit/sec. but would average 40K to 60K bit/sec., still three or four times the current wireless speeds of 9K to 19K bit/sec.

The wireless AirCard 555, which comes with drivers, is available for $300 from Sierra Wireless. Separately, customers can buy a new Express Network phone, the Kyocera 2235, for $80 and a cable to connect the phone to the laptop for another $80. Monthly airtime fees are $30 atop any of the current pricing plans that cost $35 to $200 per month.

Recent informal tests of the Express Network phone and cable attached to a Windows 98 laptop at Computerworld headquarters in Framingham, Mass., resulted in data rates from 60K to 380K bit/sec. The informal tests showed the lower times in the morning and late afternoon on weekdays, with the highest numbers at midday.

Verizon officials said it is possible to exceed the 144K bit/sec. rate because of Venturi compression technology incorporated within the Express Network offering. The compression technology is from Fourelle Systems Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., which sells compression software to several carriers and enterprises. Fourelle officials also tout their compression software as doubling or tripling throughput.

Since the launch, Wireless Knowledge officials said that they have been showing the service to their corporate wireless data customers in New Jersey and New York and that they have generally been impressed.

Even without the Venturi technology, speeds of 144K bit/sec. have been seen in New York, they reported. "Realistically, I'd rate my personal experience using it at a nine out of 10," said Jeff Ross, vice president of marketing at Wireless Knowledge.

"It's certainly a big improvement" over existing data rates, said Ken Swinson, senior manager of corporate development.

Faster connections fall into Wireless Knowledge's sweet spot for corporate applications, including, for example, giving users the ability to upload and download photos taken of construction sites and other commercial or industrial properties, they said.

Other companies tested the throughput in laboratories or in the field in Philadelphia. Officials at three of those companies, GoAmerica Inc. in Hackensack, N.J., Philips Consumer Electronics in Sunnyvale, Calif., and PacketVideo in San Diego, all said the tests showed reliable and fast connections.

"We found the tests quite encouraging in terms of the change from existing networks with data rates of 9.6K bit/sec. or so," said Packet Video Chief Technology Officer Ed Knapp. His company is planning to bring streaming video over wireless capabilities to carriers for consumer and business purposes. One example is providing stockbrokers with timely video and quotes, he said.

GoAmerica's vice president of network engineering, Terrence Randell, reported speeds of 64K to 138K bit/sec. in the Express Network tests, without compression software, which was enough to persuade him to use the service internally. The company currently has 108,000 wireless wide-area network subscribers nationwide who receive browsing and e-mail speeds of up to 14.4K bit/sec. GoAmerica is evaluating many carriers for their faster wireless services, but Randell said Verizon's effort "seems more concerted" than the rest.

Analysts said at least 11 carriers globally have begun rolling out the 1XRTT network that is the technology basis of Verizon's Express Network offering, serving more than 4 million subscribers. But aside from Verizon in the U.S., the other players are small companies with small geographic footprints. Bell Mobility in Canada announced its service Feb. 12.

Analyst Alan Reiter of Wireless Internet and Mobile Computing in Chevy Chase, Md., said the biggest worry about Verizon's new service is likely to be cost. He called the $30 additional fee per month a "penalty" for a faster connection.

But many of Verizon's partners and analysts said they expect faster network connections to go down in price in coming months, especially with competitors beginning to offer the service. Verizon also said it plans to introduce sometime before July a pricing scheme that charges by bits of usage instead of minutes, but details weren't available.

Wireless Knowledge officials said they might be able to provide the faster service to customers at no premium over existing wireless networks.

Also, Verizon expects to keep adding cities throughout the year and reach the entire nation by year's end.

Sprint PCS in Kansas City, Mo., is expected to roll out a 1XRTT offering in the summer. Meanwhile, two other big wireless carriers -- AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in Redmond, Wash., and Cingular Wireless in Atlanta -- announced in July a joint venture to provide faster wireless networks along 3,000 miles of major highways in the western U.S. starting early next year. That service will depend on Global System for Mobile/General Packet Radio Service.