Riding on top of a CDMA (code division multiple access) cellular network (pioneered by QUALCOMM), EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimization) is a means of providing wireless broadband access to mobile users through their laptops and PDAs. It can also be used to provide multi-media content (audio and video) streaming and downloads to cell phone users, if they have the right kind of phone.

Verizon Wireless now offers subscribers EV-DO wireless broadband Internet services under its BroadbandAccess brand name and mobile multi-media services to its cellular phone customers under the V CAST brand.

Ken Muche, the Verizon Wireless spokesperson for the Southern California area, spoke today with Broadband Wireless Access World (BWAW) about EV-DO and Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess and V CAST products.

You can listen to this BWAW audio interview with Verizon Wireless spokesperson Ken Muche in its entirety by clicking here.

During that conversation, Mr. Muche pointed out that while the Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess product, which offers download speeds of 400-700 kbps, costs $79.99 per month, V CAST only costs an additional $15 per month on top of whatever a user is already paying for his or her Verizon Wireless cellular phone plan.

The Verizon Wireless spokesperson mentioned that both these services are now available throughout the 4,400 square mile Southern California area, including Los Angeles and Orange Counties down to San Diego County.

In order to take advantage of the V CAST service, which offers a choice of 300 constantly-updated streaming media clips ("all you can eat" for your $15) and options to pay for and download music videos (at $3.99 each) and "mobisodes" of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's in "The Simple Life: Interns" (at $ 0.99 each) or mobisodes of the V CAST-only programs "The Sunset Hotel" and "Love and Hate", a user needs to have one of three new V CAST-compatible cell phones.

These three phones are the Samsung SCH-A890, the UTStarcom CDM8940, and the LG VX8000.

To sample some typical V CAST streaming videos, click here.