Why Go Wireless?

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.

by Michael R. Anderson CIO of Prime Directive Quick Link [February 23, 2001]

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 notice—we 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 providers—WISPs like yours and mine.

Special delivery
How is it that the little guys—independent WISP operators—are out maneuvering the big boys and delivering high-speed access to users at a rate that larger providers can't rival?

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 density—but 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 customers—right now.

—End