Wireless access
providers connect homes and businesses to the Internet using wireless, or
radio connection technology, rather than using technologies such as
coaxial cable (CM) or twisted copper paired telephone lines (DSL).
Wireless providers can use mobile or fixed wireless
technologies.
Generally, with fixed wireless technology, a
computer, or network of computers, employs a radio link from the
customer's location to the service provider. This radio link is usually
established between rooftop antennas in order for the radio link to have
direct line of sight between the two antennas. These rooftop antennas are
usually dish shaped antennas with a very narrow beam of connectivity to
prevent interference. The antenna at the customer's location is connected
by a cable that runs between the rooftop antenna and the local
transmitting and receiving radio equipment. This terminal radio equipment
is then connected to the local computer network.
With mobile
wireless Internet access, information is transmitted in basically the same
way wireless phone calls are transmitted. When a consumer types
information into his or her handheld wireless device, it is converted to
radio waves. The radio waves travel through the air until they reach a
receiver at a nearby base station. The base station then sends the
information through the telephone network and Internet until it reaches
its destination. When a consumer receives information through the Internet
on the consumer's wireless device, the data travels through the telephone
network until it reaches a base station close to the consumer's device.
Then the base station sends out radio waves that are detected by a
receiver in the consumer's device.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Wireless
Fixed wireless access customers can be
located between 2 and 35 miles from the wireless provider's network
between the two locations. Fixed wireless provides Internet-access at
speeds ranging from one up to 155 megabits per second (Mbps). Of course
the fixed wireless radio access is dependent on the radio connection and
the quality of the radio connection will determine the ultimate quality of
service to the customer.
There are several types of new
technologies under development that will make it easier for consumers to
access the Internet through fixed wireless services. Some providers have
initiated wireless access that does not require line of sight radio
connectivity. Since many customers may not have line of sight
capabilities, this technology could create additional fixed wireless
opportunities for consumers. Other providers are implementing systems that
are easy for the customer to install and simply "plug and
play."
There are thousands of commercial locations across the
country, such as restaurants, hotels, airports, bookstores, convention
centers, and city parks and squares, where customers can use laptop
computers, handheld devices, and other portable computing devices with
special "wireless modem cards" to connect to the Internet wirelessly.
While consumers cannot get wireless Internet access once outside these
buildings or "hotspots," inside the hotspots they can get Internet access
on their devices at speeds of up to 11 Mbps. Also, some wireless providers
offer customers packages where they can get wireless Internet access at a
collection of different hotspots. The technology that enables the wireless
access in hotspots is called "WiFi." This technology was originally
developed as a home networking technology to network home computers
wirelessly. There are currently efforts in the industry to develop
solutions to extend this technology for longer distances where WiFi can be
used as the last-mile solution for Internet access.
Finally,
wireless carriers are planning to provide some measure of high-speed
Internet access on mobile, or cellular, phones using what is called "third
generation" technology. This technology would give mobile phone users,
with the appropriate digital phone, the ability to access the Internet via
their phone at speeds up to 2 Mbps in order to provide multi-media types
of services. These mobile devices would be connected via radio to a
network of base stations that in turn provide connection around the
country. Most of the national cellular phone carriers are on an
evolutionary path to provide data services over their networks, and many
carriers have already upgraded their networks to provide mobile Internet
access at speeds comparable to landline dial-up Internet
access.
This capability would give mobile phone users with the
appropriate digital phone, the ability to access the Internet via their
phone at speeds up to 2 Mbps in order to provide multi-media types of
services. Future generations of mobile phone service promise even faster
speeds but are envisioned for some time in the
future. |
