Quick Jump Menu to this Month’s Articles October, 20th 2003 Overview Rural America Wireless Panel – Intel and Microsoft Want to Help You Death of Distance Implications for Independent Telcos
Rural America Wireless Panel – Intel and Microsoft Want to Help You:
by Ken Pyle
October 20, 2003 Issue
Interesting opening to NTCA IOC Wireless Symposium, as the opening session included two panelists who are not directly involved in selling wireless and, in fact, are better known as the one-two punch that have dominated the PC world; Intel and Microsoft. Their motivation for being at a wireless conference is to ensure the promulgation of bandwidth everywhere. Like other technologies they have championed, bandwidth is critical to Intel, Microsoft and the entire PC industry.
Microsoft is ready to step up politically to ensure that the rural areas are treated fairly. They clearly have been doing their homework, as evidenced by their description of the needs of rural areas. Microsoft also pointed out that the chips to implement 802.11 are dropping to the $2 price range, so products of all sorts will soon have integrated wireless.
Complementing the political angle of Microsoft, Intel is evangelizing 802.16 (WiMAX) and all of its variations, such there are alternative ways to get high bandwidths to the home. J.P. Raichura of Intel pointed out that OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation), the modulation technology underlying the standard, allows for non-line of sight, so it may be applied much more universally than other technical approaches. Intel expects the 802.16 standard to be integrated into chips by the second quarter of next year.
There is not a place in rural America where people go to congregate, according to Josh Peterson of Northwest Communications, so he doesn’t see hot spots as viable option yet for rural telcos. He did point out that hot spots are something rural telcos could provide to their business customers who require this sort of service as an amenity. Peterson also believes there may be some one-time revenue opportunities. Microsoft, on the other hand, believes that in the long-term, wireless will become like “salt in a restaurant” or “free parking” and will become a needed amenity.
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