Fixed wireless Internet access providers are popping up
all over the countryu. Learn why going wireless might be your ISPs best
method for delivering broadband services.
Local and regional wireless Internet service providers, better known
as WISPs, are growing in number. These pioneering high-speed service providers
might be considered insignificant rivals by national wireless firms the
likes of Metricom,
AT&T Wireless,
or Verizon.
But independent WISP operations just keep popping up all across the country
and the big boys of wireless services should take noticewe
are ready to eat their lunch, even if it is bite-by-bite.
Just take a brief look at the current state of high-speed wireless access
in the U.S. and you will see why the future looks bright for ISP owners
that add fixed wireless services to their repertoire:
Nearly 12 million home Web users accessed the Internet with a high-speed
connection in December 2000, as compared to 5 million people during
the previous December. While most of these high-speed users connect
to the Net via coax or copper lines, there are more than 200 WISPs currently
operating in the U.S. and more WISPs are delivering data over the airwaves
everyday.
[Study after study indicates that fixed wireless
Internet access is the next big wave, which carries on its crest the
very future of high-speed data services. So you should expect those
broadband figures to change when users learn about WISP operations.]
Wall Street analysts say that the market is ready for high-speed wireless
services, but financiers are hesitant to invest in what they consider
to be high-risk wireless business ventures.
[WISP startups do not require venture capital.
Operating a profitable WISP needs a solid business plan, technical
know-how, and a sturdy ladder.]
Consumers say they are ready for high-speed Internet services, but
they are wary of waiting for wired broadband lines to linkup their neighborhood
and they are fed up paying big telco and big cable companies month after
month, knowing that they're just a number in a ledger.
[Fixed wireless Internet services can provide
superior, almost intimate customer service to subscribers that have
been neglected by larger firms because each installation is unique.]
The current capital crunch has digital subscriber line providers and
incumbent carriers slowing down deployment efforts nationwide.
[No such slowdown in the WISP segment of the
market, business is great and will only get better as consumers learn
about the differences between mobile and fixed wireless Internet access.]
Cable modem providers continue to struggle with security issues inherent
to its shared network platform, while operability issues compound attempts
to share access with rival providers.
[Operating in the 2.4GHz band is license-free
and for the most part, unencumbered by federal and local regulations
and security solutions are being distributed by most equipment makers
now.]
It seems that the only operators willing to work around broadband
logjams hindering telco and cable service deployment are independent
service providersWISPs like yours and mine.
Special delivery
How is it that the little guysindependent WISP operatorsare
out maneuvering the big boys and delivering high-speed access to
users at a rate that larger providers can't rival?
Independent WISPs don't have to deal with connectivity delays that
DSL, cable, or satellite systems face. For example, DSL access is routinely
delayed because Central Office upgrades or fiber optic solutions are
not completed in time to shorten the delivery cycle.
Cable modem access is riddled with infrastructure problems, but multiple
systems operators often times lack the funding required to upgrade their
networks to support Data Over Cable Systems Interface Specifications
(DOCSIS), which is necessary to deliver two-way data transport.
Satellite systems are available on a limited basis right now, but
substandard latency performance prohibits providers from delivering
fast Internet access to mainstream markets. While the technology is
on the verge of breaking free from requiring dedicated telephone lines
to complete unlinks, price barriers often intimidate would-be users.
It's obvious that fixed wireless Internet access has several major advantages
over comparable DSL, cable, and satellite services. So does this mean
that becoming a WISP is the perfect solution for delivering high-speed
Internet access to subscribers?
Nothing's perfect
Fixed wireless technology is not without deployment limitations too, the
greatest of which is Line-Of-Sight (LOS). Simply put, customer premise
equipment, namely the antenna, must see your WISPs antenna. This
means that would-be users residing in a low-laying area or a location
surrounded by tall, dense trees might not be able connect to your WISP
without overcoming LOS obstacles first.
Cable and DSL providers might be able to deliver 100% access to households
in any respective service footprint. Your WISP is capable of attaining
the same service densitybut you might have to break out the chain
saw and yell "timber" before you can deliver a signal strong enough to
transport data to each and every customer in your service area.
Best of all, independent WISP operators are not dependent on telecom
copper lines to deliver "last mile" connectivity for fixed wireless services.
The only time cable is an issue for a WISP operation is when an install
requires a coax link from an rooftop antenna to a users computer.
While WISP offerings might not be the cure for every connectivity problem
nationwide, independent operators are capable of providing best of breed
broadband connectivity to customersright now.