What does "EV" mean on a cell phone?

EV is a 3G wireless technology on Sprint and Verizon cell phones that provides users with data connection. EV is also referred to as EV-DO, which stands for evolution-data optimized. EV sometimes appears on a cell phone along with a separate cellular connection indicator.

EV-DO is part of the CDMA2000 standards. With this technology, users experience data rates as fast as 3.1 megabytes per second. These data rates are 10 times faster than 1XRTT, which was the technology released just prior to the EV technology. EV strictly controls data. Phone calls and text messaging are not controlled through the EV technology.