Subject: [NEXTEL-1] http://www.m-travel.com/30127.shtml

From: Rick Parrish <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 03:45:19 -0600

Senate bill would 'jumpstart' broadband access

/27 January 2003

/[ http://www.m-travel.com/30127.shtml ]

WASHINGTON — Senators Barbara Boxer (California) and George Allen 
(Virginia) have co-authored legislation to expand access to Internet 
broadband technology, with the goal increasing development in the 
telecommunications industry. Broadband increases the capacity of 
Internet connections, which means information can be transmitted much 
faster.

Called the Jumpstart Broadband Act, the bill calls for the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC) to allocate not less than 255 megahertz 
of contiguous spectrum in the 5 gigahertz band for unlicensed use by 
wireless broadband devices.

“Wireless broadband technology offers tremendous promise for the future 
of high-speed Internet services, and it also holds the potential to 
re-energize visionary thinking for boundless horizons, rather than 
deadlock and indecision,” Allen said. “With our proposal, we hope to 
light the spark that will propel legislation to help make broadband 
available to all Americans, especially those in rural and inner-city 
areas, thus efficiently and quickly bridging the digital divide."

The Boxer-Allen bill requires the FCC to make more broadcast spectrum 
available for use by devices that incorporate new technology like 
Wireless Fidelity (also known as Wi-Fi). Now, these kinds of 
technologies are limited to a small portion of the spectrum, which 
limits their development. The Boxer-Allen bill also requires the FCC to 
develop guidelines for the expanded portion of the broadcast spectrum 
that will be used by these devices to avoid signal congestion and 
interference.

"Our legislation will build confidence among consumers, investors and 
innovators in the telecommunications and technology industries to 
eventually make the broadband dream a reality," Allen said. "The 
proliferation of next generation broadband Internet connections will 
reinvigorate growth in the technology and telecommunications industries 
and improve our lives." He added that helping the developing wireless 
home networking industry could help produce more jobs, increase 
productivity, improve health care delivery and make education more 
accessible.

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Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11b, is a technology that allows the creation 
of wireless networks with a radius of around 300 feet.

“The Boxer-Allen bill can help jump-start the broadband Internet market, 
and it breaks traditional thinking about how this can be accomplished,” 
Boxer said. “It will reinvigorate high-tech economic development in 
California and across the country, and it will help give people in both 
urban and rural communities new ways of accessing the Internet and new 
ways of taking advantage of opportunities in the new economy.”

Intel and other companies in the wireless industry have already 
announced support for the Jumpstart Broadband Act. Atheros 
Communications, a leading developer of advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) 
chipsets, gave the company's full support for the legislation. Atheros 
said the bill addresses the nation's need for increased capacity and 
scalability to support the rapidly growing wireless networking market 
and various applications including computer networking, home video 
distribution, public hot spot Internet access, and broadband services.

"By taking action now, Congress is showing that it understands the need 
for scalability in ensuring the long-term growth of WLAN applications 
across many types of devices," said Rich Redelfs, president and CEO of 
Atheros. "The proposed increase in available spectrum will accelerate 
the trend towards eliminating wires by providing substantially more 
non-interfering channels. Across the globe, the 5-GHz band is rapidly 
being used for expanding in-building and outdoor broadband wireless 
connectivity. We commend senators Allen and Boxer for their support of 
the WLAN industry in ensuring the continued advancement of this 
important technology."

Redelfs noted that wireless products based on the IEEE802.11b standard 
have become increasingly popular worldwide. However, these products 
operate in the 2.4-GHz band, where there's only 83.5 MHz of unlicensed 
spectrum shared by often incompatible wireless devices. In contrast, 
WLAN products based on the more advanced IEEE802.11a standard today 
operate in the less crowded 5-GHz band, which provides 325 MHz of 
spectrum. The new bill calls for the Federal Communications Commission 
(FCC) to allocate an additional 255 MHz of continuous spectrum in the 
5-GHz band for unlicensed wireless use, thus nearly doubling the 
available spectrum for high-performance 5-GHz devices.

The proposed additional 255 MHz of spectrum for the U.S. (5.470-5.725 
GHz) has already been allocated in Europe for unlicensed applications, 
Redelfs said. About one million 802.11a devices have already been sold, 
with the latest products having the capability to automatically adjust 
to local-country regulations. Most of the 5-GHz unlicensed spectrum has 
been reserved worldwide for high performance devices, avoiding the 
interference found in the 2.4-GHz band from microwave ovens, and 
low-performance cordless phones, baby monitors and security systems.

Redelfs said the Jumpstart Broadband Act validates his belief that 
5-GHz-based WLAN technology in addition to legacy 2.4-GHz technology 
will be required for the future of wireless communications across the globe.

License-exempt wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) are quickly 
becoming a bigger and bigger factor in the overall broadband picture, 
according to In-Stat/MDR. With the Boxer-Allen legislation, calling upon 
the FCC to allocate increased spectrum to be made available for 
license-exempt fixed wireless broadband (FWB) systems, In-Stat/MDR says 
it is clear that interest in FWB is moving beyond just technology 
enthusiasts. The high-tech market research firm estimates that there are 
1,500-1,800 license exempt WISPs in the US and worldwide end user 
revenues generated from infrastructure in the license-exempt WISP market 
are forecasted to be $265.2 million for 2002. These revenues will grow 
over the next couple years as operators build out their networks. But, 
as the market matures, annual infrastructure revenues will decline back 
to 2002 levels.

"While the free nature of the spectrum and the low infrastructure cost 
will help drive the license-exempt WISP market, there are several major 
inhibitors that need to be overcome," said Daryl Schoolar, a senior 
analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "One of the most critical ones is the mistaken 
belief amongst the general public that all wireless Ethernet is Wi-Fi. 
While general knowledge of Wi-Fi has helped to spur interest in fixed 
wireless broadband, it appears that some potential subscribers will not 
utilize FWB, as they have concerns over how a standard developed for the 
LAN environment, will operate in the last-mile."

However, growth of all broadband technologies and services face similar 
drivers and inhibitors, Schoolar said. Both FWB and broadband in general 
can profit from subscribers wanting always-on connections, with faster 
speeds for Web surfing or online gaming. Both face subscriber resistance 
because of general consumer resistance to additional costs and what the 
consumer perceives as a lack of compelling reasons for the service.

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