Communications providers have begun rolling out wireless broadband networks because they think the technology might be the industry's next big thing, though there are still no guarantees.
The technology is most familiar at the moment in the form of the WiFi services offered to laptop computer users in cafés and airports. The next generation, WiMAX, is just coming out, offering wider coverage and faster speeds.
Cable and wireless giant Rogers Communications Inc., for one, believes it needs to make investments in this area. It switched on its WiMAX-like wireless broadband network (jointly owned with Bell Canada) 14 months ago. It is called Inukshuk, and Rogers expects to reach 60 per cent of Canadians with it by the end of 2007, Nadir Mohamed, chief operating officer of Rogers' Communications Group, told an industry conference yesterday.
"More and more, that's where the world is going," Mr. Mohamed said at the 2007 Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto. "We always felt it was important to actually be ahead of the curve. So we're setting the stage."
Although wireless broadband still has problems to iron out, big phone carriers would be well advised to take Rogers as an example and not ignore the emerging WiMAX threat, according to Michael Urlocker, chief executive officer of consulting firm Disruption Group.
"Any telco that takes a wait-and-see view on WiMAX runs the risk of being disrupted by more nimble, more experienced competitors five years from now," Mr. Urlocker said. "And no regulator or government kindness can save a company from disruption."
Things can change quickly in the telecom market, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of phone customers the cable companies have won since entering that market in 2005. When cellphones were introduced 20 years ago they were not popular, but have since changed the telecom world.
For now, wireless broadband, which lets people connect to the Internet through radio signals instead of wires, isn't exactly a big threat to the phone and cable giants. Technologies like WiFi and its newer and more advanced cousin, WiMAX, typically serve a specific need. In rural areas, for example, wireless broadband is used to offer high-speed Internet service in areas where it's too expensive to lay cables in the ground. And in urban areas, people use their laptops at WiFi hotspots.
That represents ample opportunity for some. Barrett Xplore Inc., for example, has carved out a place for itself offering Internet service via wireless broadband and satellite networks in remote parts of the country. WiMAX could emerge as a new rival to cellphone operators. While wireless broadband is fixed for now, meaning you have to use it in one area near a tower or hot spot, it is expected to be mobile in coming years as more WiMAX devices hit the market. Moreover, WiMAX is said to be cheaper to deploy than advanced cellphone networks and its speeds are expected to increase.
*****
Bigger, better wireless
What is it?
WiMAX is a wireless digital communications system that is intended for "metropolitan-area networks." It can provide broadband wireless access up to 50 kilometres for fixed stations and up to 15 km for mobile stations. WiFi local-area networks are limited to 30 to 100 metres.
What can it be used for?
It has the potential to replace a number of existing telecommunications infrastructures: the telephone company's copper wire networks and cable TV's coaxial cable, while offering Internet Service Provider services. In its mobile form, WiMAX has the potential to replace cellular networks.
What are the benefits?
WiMAX allows for more efficient bandwidth use, interference avoidance, and has the capacity to deliver higher data rates over longer distances.
When will it be available?
It is expected that WiMAX technology will be incorporated in notebook computers and PDAs this year, allowing for urban areas and cities to become "metro zones" for portable outdoor broadband wireless access.
Source: WiMAX.com