Motorola has led the field in introducing advanced technologies to its customers, and no technology has been as effective as WiDEN. WiDEN, short for Wideband Integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network, is the latest software upgrade from Motorola. The main reason for its introduction was to provide a support system for iDEN, the technology behind wireless telephony protocol or mobile radio services. WiDEN has made it possible for clients to stay in touch across as many as four 25 kHz channels. These channels can range up to a hundred Kbits of bandwidth.

One of the first WiDEN-compatible tools introduced was the Motorola iM240 PC card. This PC card had features like receiving raw data at unbelievably high speeds. In most cases, the speed was an astounding 60 kbit/s. Once this tool became popular, Motorola came out with a new range of phones that were WiDEN compatible. These were Motorola i760 and i850 models. These phones have sold extremely well since they were introduced in mid 2005. Now that the i850/i760 software upgrade has been introduced, both of these phones can access WiDEN technology with ease. What really marked the release of WiDEN was the commercial launch of Motorola i870. However, many customers complained that they could not access WiDEN using the handsets they had, such as the i930/i920.

Even though the Motorola Smartphone supports this advanced technology, the units that were shipped by Sprint could not access the WiDEN service. Thankfully, a large number of members from the cellular forum communities came up with a host of tricks to activate the service. Motorola’s RSS software enabled them to get this service. Nextel’s National Network had been providing the WiDEN technology in a number of areas. When Nextel and Sprint agreed on a merger, Sprint Nextel decided to continue using WiDEN technology, since Sprint’s 3G CDMA network (later developed into EVDO or EVDO Rev A) was proving to be an obstacle to upgrading iDEN. Such problems were absent in WiDEN, a 2.5G technology.

What were the reasons for the development of WiDEN technology? There were some complications in earlier network transmission. Moreover, clients suffered from not being able to surf the Internet from their CDMA-enables phones. The older technology also lacked the dynamism and range that was later introduced with WiDEN.

Both Sprint Nextel and Motorola have been reaping the rewards of WiDEN-compatible handsets. Anyone planning to get an advanced CDMA handset should go for a WiDEN-enabled phone, as it lets you carry the world around in your pocket.