In a recent article on WiMAX Networking News, Nancy Gohring comments on Om Malik who's commenting on HSDPA (the latest CDMA-based "real Broadband" wireless telephony technology).
The main point being made is that HSDPA is projected to be widely available before "mobility-enabled" WiMAX systems and thus WiMAX systems and service providers hoping to provide mobility services will "lose out" to HSDPA.
But both Gohring and Malik miss one critical piece of background information - WiMAX (and 802.16-2004, 802.16e, and 802.20 [the latter two still in work] are efforts to codify existing Broadband Wireless Internet Access technology into an interoperable standard.
Existing BWIA Technology - including Mobility-enabled Broadband Wireless Internet Access! Such systems are available now, off the shelf, by vendors such as Flarion, Alvarion, IPWireless, NextNet Wireless (used by Clearwire; ergo every Clearwire system is capable of mobile broadband), Adaptix, and Wi-LAN to name but a few.
Mobile-enabled BWIA Technology is so available, so off-the-shelf, that I wrote a feature article about it in FOCUS On Broadband Wireless Internet Access... in 2001! The article was a profile of Odessa Office Equipment, a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) serving the Eastern Washington community of Odessa and surrounding areas. Here's the relevant excerpt from the article:
One of the more startling demonstrations of OOE’s wireless Internet access service that I was given during my stay was mobile wireless Internet access. OOE has outfitted several patrol cars from the local Sheriff’s department for wireless Internet access, which is accessed via existing laptop computers. Reports can be composed in the field, and transmitted via email. Deputy Kelly, who graciously gave me a brief ride to demonstrate the system, was startled when I burst out laughing at the situation of, being mobile in Odessa Washington… I had better [mobile] Internet connectivity than what was available to me at my home in Woodinville, Washington only a few miles away from the high-tech colossus of Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington. I can attest that mobile Internet access in Odessa Washington works, and works well.
Here's the kicker... OOE owner Marlon Schafer used off-the-shelf 802.11 (not even 802.11b at that time) equipment in his mobility-enabled broadband system. Imagine what the current-generation technology from the vendors mentioned above is capable of.
OK, granted, the systems mentioned above are 1) Not yet WiMAX-standardized, and 2) some are not "portable". But consider:
1. The same BWIA infrastructure can provide service to both fixed and mobile customers - cost effectively.
2. Such systems are generally not "spectrum bound" - they're flexible in which spectrum they can use - potentially sharing television broadcast spectrum, 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz (yes... it can be done, ask the San Diego County Sheriff's Department), potentially 500 MHz at 5 GHz (and yes, mobility does work there - it's quite an effort, but it's possible.) Not to mention that in rural areas there is an absolute abundance of unused 1.9 GHz "mobile telephony" spectrum (the "old, analog" 800 MHz mobile telephony spectrum works very well in rural areas).
3. Such systems don't require $Billions of investment to implement
4. Because such systems can be deployed by any number of different types of entities (including municipal governments), customers will have real choice in such services instead of being restricted to an oligopoly offering only walled gardens and other severely limited choices.
Now, consider the possibilities of an entire community that's already blanketed with seamless Wi-Fi coverage... that existing Wi-Fi PDAs, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) over Wi-Fi phones... and handheld gaming systems like Sony's new Playstation Portable (PSP)* can use now... off-the-shelf.
Imagine the reaction of the citizens of Grand Haven when HSDPA comes to their community: "You want how much per month for your service?!?! It's only how fast?!?! I can only use it with a phone, that I can only buy from your company?!?! Um, no Thanks, I'll stick to the city's Wi-Fi service and be able to use whatever devices I want."
The bottom line is that, for mobile broadband, it's not the case that we're waiting for HSDPA or WiMAX. If mobile broadband is needed, at this point it's a matter of deploying a system that best fits the needs of the intended customer base.
It is the case that both HSDPA and mobile WiMAX will, increasingly, be faced with competition that was never imagined in their hubris that their respective systems are the solution for Broadband Wireless Internet Access.
* I mention the PSP here because I was recently educated that it is the hottest thing in portable video - thanks DLH. While the current version isn't (as far as I'm aware) equipped with Wi-Fi, it's only a matter of time before Sony responds to competitive pressures of other, existing handheld gaming systems that do have Wi-Fi.
Steve Stroh
This article is Copyright © 2005 by Steve Stroh
Posted by Steve Stroh on February 22, 2005
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Policymakers' Best Hope For... Competition May Come From Startups Such As... ClearWire
...
While the phone giants will face stiff competition, regulators can't rest easy. The recurring problem for policymakers is the lack of competition for the last-mile connection to homes. There the Bells and cable companies still typically are the only relatively affordable options consumers have for broadband connections. Chances are the two rivals will "settle into a cozy duopoly" to avoid price wars, says former FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, now a managing director at Carlyle Group, a private equity firm in Washington. Policymakers' best hope for more price competition may come from startups such as wireless mogul Craig O. McCaw's ClearWire Corp., which sells broadband at affordable rates in select markets via WiMax wireless technology.
...
The above is an excerpt from a February 28, 2005 article in Business Week Online - The Shifting Telecom Landscape. Authors Catherine Yang, Brian Grow, Steven Rosenbush, and Roger O. Crockett make the usual mistake of WiMAX being synonymous with Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) in general (Clearwire uses NextNet Wireless equipment that is proprietary - not WiMAX compliant). But the article is notable for placing BWIA in the proper context - as a matter-of-fact competitor to wireline Broadband Internet Access. The article is also notable for the phrase "... such as... Clearwire (and yes, it's Clearwire, not ClearWire). With that phrase, the authors very correctly (and unusually, for general press) indicated to the readers that Clearwire is not the only company of its type.
Indeed not! As an example, at the recently concluded WISP*NOG Conference, I learned of DLS Internet Services, a BWIA Service Provider in the Chicago area. DLS' "Platinum" level of service is "burst to" (at least they're honest... unlike the typical marketingspeak of DSL and cable modem service providers) 10 Mbps... for $65/month!!!
As an additional competitive measure, DLS Internet Services offers Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony service (akin to Vonage) to their wireless customers.
Hearing a DLS Internet Services rep speak at WISP*NOG, it was very apparent that while DLS is exceptionally good at all phases of being a BWIA Service Provider... there's nothing about DLS that, with good planning and execution couldn't be replicated by other BWIA service providers.
License-exempt spectrum and new generations of BWIA technology... that's the real "Freedom To Connect".
Steve Stroh
This article is Copyright © 2005 by Steve Stroh (except for the fair-use excerpt from Business Week Online).
Posted by Steve Stroh on February 22, 2005 at 09:30 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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New America Foundation Washington DC Briefing - Bridging The Broadband Digital Divide
Steve--
I thought you might find this interesting.
--Jim
J.H. Snider, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow
New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washingtion, DC 20009
Tel: 202/986-2700
Jim:
Indeed I do find this interesting and would have publicized it more widely and with more notice if (as I've requested several times) New America Foundation had a mailing list that I could subscribe specifically for the activities of its Spectrum Policy Program. Currently I receive bulletins about all the activities of the NAF. To try to keep FOCUSed on Broadband Wireless Internet Access, general bulletins such as those from NAF go into the "to be culled through when time is available" section of my email system.
Thanks,
Steve
The New America Foundation presents a Capitol Hill Briefing -
MUNICIPAL WIRELESS NETWORKS:
BRIDGING THE BROADBAND DIGITAL DIVIDE
How unlicensed wireless broadband networks are promoting public safety, economic development and affordable Internet access in towns across America.
Tuesday, 22 February
3:00 - 4:30p.m.
Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253
Washington, D.C.
with
DIANAH NEFF
Chief Information Officer, City of Philadelphia
OSCAR MARTINEZ
Assistant City Manager, City of Corpus Christi, Texas
SASCHA MEINRATH
Co-Founder and Project Coordinator,
Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network, Illinois
DR. MARVIN A. SIRBU
Professor, Engineering and Public Policy
Chairman, Information Networking Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
moderator
MICHAEL CALABRESE
Vice President, New America Foundation
RSVP to Naveen Lakshmipathy
202-986-2700 or
lakshmipathy@newamerica.net
"Experts say the Philadelphia model, if successful, could provide the tipping point for a nationwide movement to make broadband affordable and accessible in every municipality....But Philadelphia's plan has prompted a debate over ... whether government should compete with private industry, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas or low-income urban communities."
[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/technology/17wired.html?pagewanted=print&position ]
- New York Times, February 17, 2005, Page A1
Why are America's municipalities - from small town Corpus Christi and Granbury, Texas, to big cities such as Philadelphia - building wireless broadband networks and fighting state legislatures that want to ban them? The networks rely on unlicensed public airwaves to extend the reach of WiFi-type broadband coverage to blanket business districts, towns and even entire cities.
Recent reports criticizing municipal wireless networks make them sound like some socialist conspiracy. But the small towns and cities building these networks don't agree. Come listen to their side of the story as they explain how municipal networks are spurring broadband competition, bridging the digital divide, fostering business development, and serving public safety needs.
For more on the New America Foundation and its Spectrum Policy Program:
www.spectrumpolicy.org
Posted by Steve Stroh on February 22, 2005
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