Broadband Wireless a Rising Star

Posted: 08/1999

Broadband Wireless a Rising Star
By Charlotte Wolter

The world of wireless broadband services has expanded dramatically in the last few
months, as service providers such as Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. have feverishly
snapped up multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS) bandwidth in a play to
offer data and voice services.

Combined with the existing efforts around the world in other high-frequency
spectra–which range from 10 gigahertz (gHz) to 41gHz–broadband wireless has moved from a
quirky outlier of the data and telephone connectivity business to a serious contender as
an alternative carrier. At SUPERCOMM ’99, several companies stepped forward to show new
products or demonstrate their interest in greatly expanding their lines to meet the demand
for transmission in these many frequencies.

In a product plan that shows how diverse the market has become, Ron Fangio, senior
director of marketing and strategic planning for the fixed wireless division of Alcatel
USA, Richardson, Texas, says that company’s goal is to have a network solution that can do
local multipoint distribution service (LMDS), MMDS and 1900 megahertz (mHz), the global
system for mobile communication (GSM) band. That will enable providers to reach
small-to-medium sized businesses with LMDS, the small office/home office (SOHO)
environment with MMDS and residential/mobile customers with 1900mHz. "With our 9900
LMDS product, we will build it so that later operators can drop in MMDS and 3G
(third-generation mobile) technologies," Fangio says. "It allows service
providers to offer different services to different customers with the same network behind
the transmitters." He adds, "CLECs want an end-to-end solution, not boxes."