Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC Opens Up New Wireless Frontier

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 23:48:50 -0400

FCC Opens Up New Wireless Frontier
By Jason Lopez
NewsFactor Network
October 16, 2003
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22506.html

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules that open up
high-frequency "millimeter wave" bands for commercial use in the U.S. The FCC
expects the spectrums will be used for point-to-point high speed data transfer.
The bands -- 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz -- have never been used
commercially and will
provide some relief for the congestion experienced in other parts of the spectrum.

Multi-Gig Wireless

The bandwidths are very narrow; while not suited to broadcasting, they are ideal
for beamed transmission of signals. "The spectrum is capable of multi-gig [bps]
connections over moderate distances," Jeff Campbell, director of technology and
communications policy for Cisco, told NewsFactor.

There are some drawbacks. Frequencies in the 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz, and 92-95 GHz
ranges can be affected by bad weather and are limited to just a few miles. The
most typical application of new technologies using "millimeter wave" bands is a
campus setting where buildings have not yet been connected to fiber. The FCC
envisions that transmission and reception equipment will be an alternative to
cable.

"It's 30 to 40 grand to dig up a street and lay fiber. Wireless will be a lot
cheaper and easier," Lou Slaughter, co-chair of the above-60 GHz committee of the
Wireless Communications Association, told NewsFactor.

"The technology allows for an excellent add-on for network providers, because it
saves them the trouble of having to lay new fiber," Campbell says. "You might call
it a wireless fiber replacement."  Still Workin' on It  No one knows how much of a
market there will be for wireless data-transfer services from building to
building. Only one company, Loea Communications, has developed working equipment.

"The private sector is experimenting with different uses for these bands," said
FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin, "and this spectrum may ultimately be used
commercially for high-speed wireless local area networks, broadband access systems
for the Internet, point-to-point communications, and point-to-multipoint
communications."

But industry experts, including Slaughter, are not concerned. "It won't take long
for manufacturers to get equipment on the market," he says. "It's very exciting
historically. It's the largest block of spectrum the FCC has ever opened up at one
time."

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/