Qualcomm’s 3G cell phone chips are expected to triple both upload and download speeds for Verizon and Sprint wireless data customers in the United States.

Qualcomm said last week that it would have the new and more advanced CDMA data modems ready by the end of 2007, and that they would be based on a technology called EV-DO Revision B. At the current time, both Sprint and Verizon are delivering mobile data access over basic EV-DO networks, and are in the early stages of implementing Revision A upgrades.

The current basic EV-DO standard supports download speeds of 400 to 700 kbps, and upload speeds of 50 to 70 kbps. With Revision A, downloads can be 30% faster, while upload speeds will be nearly doubled.

Once Revision B is introduced, analysts say that there will be an even bigger boost in transfer speeds, with downloads working at 1.3 to 2.4 Mbps and uploads of 250 to 432 kbps. This will be especially important for Air Cards and wireless laptop modems, as it will bring wireless broadband speeds in line with landline DSL bandwidth.

“I believe that as we move to EV-DO Rev. A and then to Rev. B, we’ll start to have the speeds that are needed to match fixed broadband,” said Qualcomm’s vice president of CDMA product management, Cristiano Amon. “But whether or not consumers decide to go with wireless broadband over a DSL service depends on the operators’ business models.”

The first Revision B products are expected to hit the market in late 2007, with wider distribution in 2008. All products will include backward compatibility with existing basic EV-DO and Revision A networks.