 | April 1, 2000 |
Skywalking
Wireless broadband hops over last-mile roadblocks
In many instances, the roadblock to broadband services for the masses is the so-called last mile—the link between a phone company central office or a cable head end and the subscriber. Increasingly, service providers may turn to fixed-position wireless systems to solve this problem (our June issue will have an article devoted to this technology). Wireless systems can be deployed quickly and without wire or cable installation, which offsets the fact that wireless equipment costs more than hardware for DSL or cable.
For wireless broadband, ADS just announced the Axity system for MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution service). The system operates in the 2.1-, 2.3-, and 2.5-GHz frequency bands, and the MMDS technology can deliver 10-Mbit/sec rates to subscribers in a 20- to 30-mile radius of a transmitter.
In addition, a group of 12 major media organizations led by Gannet, Cox, and The New York Times Company announced plans to form a jointly owned wireless venture called iBlast Networks. iBlast will use a portion of the spectrum set aside for digital TV to deliver broadband data, video, music, and other content. The so-called network has already locked down agreements with 143 local TV stations in 102 markets to
participate in the project, thereby covering 80% of the homes in the US. iBlast hasn't revealed how its network will work, but claims that starting in 2001 it will deliver to consumers data rates that are five times faster than DSL or cable.
—Maury Wright, Executive Editor
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