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Keeping fixed wireless afloat

by sue marek
January 21, 2002

While top U.S. multichannel multipoint distribution services spectrum holders Sprint Corp. and WorldCom Inc. are entrenched in non-line-of-sight fixed wireless equipment trials that could take months to complete, some smaller license holders in rural U.S. markets are moving ahead with their commercial deployments and bringing state-of-the- art broadband services to their customers.

These small carriers provide broadband services to residential and business customers using non-line-of-sight equipment that is available today, instead of waiting for future generations. "Smaller, rural areas are where we will see fixed wireless popping up in the next year or year and a half," says Kathie Hackler, vice president and chief analyst of telecommunications with Gartner Dataquest. "Smaller companies can move faster than larger companies."

And while any deployment, big or small, is a temporary plus for the fixed wireless industry, which experienced many delays and disappointments last year, some analysts warn that these deployments actually may hurt the industry in the long run. "There's a risk that these small deployments are creating more fragmentation within the industry," says Andy Fuertes, director of wireless research with Allied Business Intelligence. Because rural carriers are deploying equipment from different vendors using different standards and technology, Fuertes fears this eventually may hinder the MMDS spectrum band and limit license holders from using the spectrum for mobility, an option made available by the FCC last October when the agency expanded the possible uses for the 2500-2690 MHz band to include mobile services.

But for equipment vendors that make MMDS gear, these smaller license holders may be the only hope they have to sell their products in the U.S. market. Orland Park, Ill.-based Andrew Corp. is deploying its SkyPath non-line- of-sight MMDS gear for Prescott, Ariz.-based broadband ISP CommSpeed. The system already has more than 1,100 customers. According to Jim Yard, vice president of Andrew's broadband wireless system group, CommSpeed is the first U.S. customer for Andrew. "Our business is a 50/50 mix of domestic and international," Yard says.

Yard adds that because the company's SkyPath equipment uses the DOCSIS standard and is capable of using DOCSIS-compatible modems, it is cost effective to deploy.

Meanwhile, another small provider is using an OFDM-based platform in rural Iowa. Evertek Inc. provides broadband service to 125 business and residential customers in Pocahontas, Iowa, using NextNet Wireless' Expedience non-line-of-sight equipment. The service has been available for just 30 days, but Evertek plans to extend it throughout its coverage area, which stretches from Sioux City to Mason City, Iowa.

Some MMDS equipment makers have had success with small deployments in the United States, but Hybrid Networks Inc. is going after something more substantial. The company, which is 18 percent owned by Sprint Corp. and provided the first-generation fixed wireless equipment to Sprint for its initial MMDS rollouts, recently signed a deal with Thales Broadcast & Multimedia to supply Indian service provider Nextage Broadband Ltd. with a system that includes Hybrid base stations and broadband routers. "The international community has said that there are places where wireline won't reach in an affordable way," says Hybrid President and CEO Michael Greenbaum, "Countries like India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria and others need communications and a low-cost way to provide broadband services."

Hybrid isn't alone in pursuing the international market. Many other U.S. companies are realizing the international arena offers much more potential for fixed wireless. "I think it's a good idea for everyone to be looking at the international market," Fuertes says. "There is much more going on internationally in fixed wireless than in the U.S." [WIM]