Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Make Room for Wireless Broadband

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 06:46:03 -0400

Make Room for Wireless Broadband

By Jason Brooks
April 26, 2004

Spectrum changes that would make fast, cheap wireless
broadband Internet service a reality can't come fast enough.

On April 15 the FCC took an important step toward expanding
high-speed Internet access - particularly for customers in rural
areas without cable or DSL - by proposing a rule change that
would benefit the wireless delivery of broadband services. The
proposed change would make more room in the electromagnetic
spectrum for unlicensed devices by allowing them to operate in
the 3,650MHz band at higher power levels than were previously
allowed.

This is a great move for the FCC, not only because broadband
Internet access is a vital and productive service but also because
establishing unlicensed space in which devices may operate is
a proven means of encouraging innovation and growth.

The benefits of unlicensed space have been proved before by the
success of 802.11b wireless networking gear. No one exclusively
owns or controls the portion of spectrum at 2.4GH - the band on
which 802.11b operate - and this open access, combined with a
set of solid, widely embraced standards, allows for an environment
in which we've seen competition, innovation and low prices.

The unlicensed route works because of the same principles that
have driven the success of the Internet: decentralized control and
standards-based design.

A similar sort of environment is coming together for delivering
wireless broadband services that can compete with and surpass
cable and DSL as a way to bring broadband connectivity into
homes and businesses and, eventually, to mobile users. As with
wireless LANs, there's an IEEE standards group to guide the
development of technology in this space, the 802.16 Working
Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards. There's also
an industry association, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave
Access, or WiMAX, to rally vendor support.

Intel has embraced 802.16, announcing plans to include the
technology in its future notebook chip sets. This support could
one day mean mobile access to DSL-type Internet connections
in many more locations than could ever be serviced by Wi-Fi
hot spots.

However, the challenges for wireless municipal-area networking
predictably extend beyond technology and regulations into issues
of interference. The 3,650MHz band the FCC is proposing to open
to wider unlicensed access is currently inhabited by licensed users
- namely, some 100 FSS (fixed satellite service) earth stations.

In a statement regarding the proposed action, FCC Chairman
Michael Powell said the FSS stations that might be affected are
gathered on the East and West coasts and that fixed wireless
broadband transmitters could be stationed to avoid these sites.
Powell also said that new, "cognitive radio" technologies could
be used to minimize interference with current users of the 3,650MHz
band. These methods include "listen before talk" requirements for
unlicensed transmitters that would put the onus on these devices
to avoid stepping on existing band occupants.

Smarter radios definitely have the potential to make more efficient
use of the spectrum, but it's not clear how well they'd work. And, as
critics point out, it's difficult to predict how unlicensed devices
will
spread and affect current spectrum users.

Interference will continue to be an issue, particularly if the FCC
makes good on its plans to further expand space for unlicensed
devices in the spectrum now occupied by older technologies such
as broadcast television. It's clear that the entrenched license
holders
will do everything to resist such liberalization, which is why it's so
important that we, the spectrum owners, are heard on this issue.

If we were to give wireless broadband anything approaching the
sort of spectrum broadcast television enjoys, we'd be able to deliver
users every bit as much news and entertainment as is now available
over television while dramatically expanding consumer options and
the number of parties that would be able to provide - and profit
from -
these services.

That's why I'd like to see the discussion move from an exploration of
how to make unlicensed devices such as wireless and municipal
networking radios fit into leftover cracks of spectrum to a debate
over
whether and when we should more aggressively reallocate spectrum.
This would include discussion about putting the squeeze on licensees
to make fast, cheap wireless broadband Internet service a reality as
soon as possible.

Senior Analyst Jason Brooks can be reached at jason_brooks @
ziffdavis.com

Source:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1572318,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000605

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