Unlicensed Fixed
Wireless Providers Continue
to Push Greater Broadband Availability,
According to Recent Yankee Group Study
Lack of
Competition and Pent-up Broadband Demand Drives
Network Deployment in Non-Metro Markets
BOSTON, Feb.
21, 2002 - In a recent Report from its Consumer Market Convergence research
and consulting practice, the Yankee Group finds that unlicensed fixed wireless
technologies continue to bridge the gap that exists between broadband
availability in urban and rural markets. Specifically within the 2.4-GHz bands,
an increasing number of wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) are
deploying broadband access to both single-family homes and verticals such as
multiple-dwelling units (MDUs).
"The
biggest driver behind interest in unlicensed bands remains their ability to
offer low-cost market entry into the consumer broadband access arena," says
Imran Khan, senior analyst and the author of the Report. "The 'mobile
computing' functionality (the ability to connect to the Internet from outside
the home and in restaurants, hotels, etc.) of wireless LANs will draw more
consumers toward subscription and usage of wireless broadband access,"
writes the author.
The Report, titled
"Unlicensed Fixed Wireless: Setting the Stage for Greater Broadband
Availability?," provides an analysis of the various unlicensed wireless
bands and profiles activities of selected WISPs serving the residential markets.
The Report further performs a comparison of fixed wireless technologies with
existing cable modem and digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband platforms in
terms of network infrastructure deployment issues. Overall, the scaling
back of broadband deployment activities on the part of the RBOCs and the
reluctance of cable operators to move into rural markets create opportunities
for WISPs to target these segments and gain a first-mover advantage.
About Yankee
Group
The Yankee Group is a global leader in technology
research and consulting. Our customers, which include technology vendors and
users, benefit from our accurate, reliable, and trusted research, consulting,
and personalized one-to-one client interaction covering communications and IT
products and services. Now in our fourth decade, the company is headquartered in
Boston and maintains offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America,
and the Pacific Rim. The Yankee Group (www.yankeegroup.com)