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Wireless in the Information Age
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Wireless in the Information Age
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II. Demand for Broadband Wireless Access
2.1 A more complete analysis of higher bandwidth demand issues is covered in the OFTEL document Access to Bandwidth along with an overview of the range of alternative wired and wireless platforms for delivering broadband interactive services.
2.2 Quotient notes that the business community have a major, and immediate, demand for access to spectrum in order to deliver and send information at bit-rates of 2Mbit/s and above between fixed points. The whole range of interests, including telecommunications companies, current and potential operators and manufacturers were all enthusiastic about the existing and potential business market. Initial applications include high speed access to the Internet, remote local area network access, file and data transfer between companies and video-conferencing. In the longer term, these demands are expected to extend to desk to desk video, tele-medicine, interactive computer aided design, greater collaborative working over the wireless networks and, of course, the development of electronic commerce enabling business to business and business to customer transactions.
2.3 Quotient refers to the fact that many large organisations already have broadband connections through fibre, cable or fixed wireless point-to-point links. There appears to be a demand, however, for point-to-multipoint wireless links within private networks as well as a growing market among small and medium sized firms for a shared point to multipoint wireless system within public networks.
2.4 Households will require access to broadband infrastructures for purposes such as video telephony, video-on-demand, broadcasting, home shopping and banking, tele-education, games, and high speed Internet access.
2.5 The availability of lower cost point to multipoint equipment will give a boost to these markets and mean that higher dater rates are available to a much larger number of businesses and consumers to use in new and innovative ways.
Question 2: The Government invites comments on the demand for broadband services and the level of interest in delivering services to customers over broadband fixed wireless networks in the context of the various other platforms.
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