Keynote Speaker
John Muleta, Bureau Chief, Wireless Telecommunications, FCC

John Muleta spoke of many issues that his division of the FCC are working on including New Spectrum Licensing. The word is that more licensed and unlicensed frequencies will be available in the near future. He feels that the new spectrum availability will, "create avenues for new competition." Muleta touched on LNP (Local Number Portability) as an example of such new competition in the cell phone industry. The focus is on maximum flexibility. "Vibrant competition and discipline will allow broadband wireless to flourish," said Muleta. One goal is to open up MDS IDFS, the 2.5GHz frequency which will give broadband wireless double the space that cellular has. Muleta finished by offering that, "Flexibility, competition, opportunity cost and national distribution is the formula for success."

Keynote Speaker
David Lippke, President & CEO, HighSpeed America, Inc.

David Lippke opened by stating that wireless broadband was, "At a tipping point." Currently, wireless broadband is 50% business and 25% residential. Lippke felt that the current industry projections of 1 - 2M users could easily be upped to 50M if certain industry issues are addressed. Educating consumers is one such issue. Lippke believes that wireless broadband is in its infancy and that hard wired solutions (Cable an DSL) have an advantage over wireless at the moment. "Keep it simple," said Lippke. "As far as support, be commited to the solution. Be responsive when there are issues. Be reliable and competent." Regarding marketing, Lippke felt that no one is currently getting the message across. There is no brand recognition. Providers have got a handle on the technical aspects of the industry but not on the marketing. He suggested providers test a campaign, watch conversion rate and retention rate. He also warns not to underprice the product. Do it scientifically. You can always lower a price but it is difficult to raise it. Once again, support was mentioned as a key aspect of the product. Be competent and committed to the fix. "Customers call because they want help, so help them. Make life simple for the consumer," he said. Lippke made an interesting marketing analogy to a program Six Flags once tried. They felt season ticket holders cost them too much money so they cut out the program. Ticket sales plummeted that next year. It seems that the season ticket holders brought one or more non-season ticket holders with them each time they came, substantially increasing the parks revenue. Lippke then spoke of reliability. "Emphasize detection, the ability to diagnose, inform the consumer and repair the problem. There is always something down - manage for it." He said a company should manage scientifically. One suggestion was to do something each day to improve the next day. Look local but operate at scale. He stressed brand, brand, brand. Promote the mind set that broadband is a necessity. Hardwired solutions are second or third tier. People are serious, just want it easy and want the "new brand." Finally, Lippke suggested that the industry should, "work together to develop the brand." One way he cited was through marketing associations.

Keynote General Session Moderator
Tim Downs, Editor, Broadband Wirelss Business Magazine

Keynote General Session Panel (left to right)
Charles Watkins, President & CEO, Continental Broadband, Inc.
Graham Barnes, CEO, NetWeb, Inc.
Douglass Campbell, V.P. Business Development, AMA TechTel Communications

Graham Barns started by stating that fixed wireless had survived the dot com bomb. He stated we still need better equipment and better public awareness for this medium to flourish. Barns further stated that there is currently no sucessful national carrier of the product. The market is currently fragmented. His suggestion - Just say NO! to T1 and DSL delays. His firm has established successful broadband alliances that can be visited at the URL's www.skyweballiance.com and www. wbanc.com.

Douglass Campbell referenced that, "A converged next generation network would consist of a merger of broadband Internet, voice and video."

Charles Watkins noted that the technology works but that the marketing is a challenge. "Customers want a bullet proof solution and a reasonable price. It does not have to be the lowest price if the product is reliable," Watkins stated. He also felt that wireless was a good solution for rapidly growing entities as the provider can simply turn a dial to upgrade their bandwidth speed. With wireless, "Clients are not locked into a 1.54Mb (T1) multiplyer." Watkins sees solid growth in the wireless broadband industry.

Opinions of our Host
Barry Diamond, CEO, Internet Express

While I was just a visitor to the convention, I have these comments to add. Wireless Internet connectivity has reached a point where it is not only feasible, but practical in many cases. In areas where other hard wired solutions are unavailable, it provides a good alternative to a slow dial up connection. While the line of site issue of some systems makes them more difficult to deploy (although you can go 10 or 20 miles with it, if a building is in the way it will not work) they client side send/receive gear normally costs about the same as a DSL modem (in the $500 or lower range). The 900MHz non-line of site systems are great as they don't care what is in the way, but the client side gear, currently, is a bit cost prohibitive at around $1100 unless you have some creative financing to go with it. Doable for businesses but not an easy option for penetrating the consumer market. To really give cable a run for its money, the CPE (client premise equipment) for this technology will have to come down in price and it will as there is more call for it. Volume is the great price equalizer.

As far as current technology, we are as far away from standardization as possible, so I do not see that happening any time soon. Branding was the recurring theme from all the keynote speakers at the Broadband Wireless World conference and the only way to create a Coca Cola visage for the wireless industry would be to coin a phrase the public can remember and develop partnerships with people who can competently deliver one version or another of this technology throughout the US. With all the hardware cost, infrastructure and management needed to deploy a wireless network and considering the constantly changing technology, it does not seem practical for a single player to deploy a wireless network on a nationwide basis. It would be a never ending battle of technology catch up for any company to try this. What makes more sense is to utilize the networks of those who have made commitments to the wireless space and come up with a consistent branding to get the public comfortable with and ready for what is to come.

In my opinion the future of broadband Internet is in some form of wireless technology. The "last mile" or link between the ISP and the consumer has always been the bottleneck, and the solution of fiber to each and every home in the world is currently impractical or at least I don't expect to see it in my lifetime. The ultimate goal is to have a single deliver system for all electronic service; Internet, phone and video. Unless bandwidth capabilities rise dramatically, this will not occur. Even a T1 speed system (1.54Mb) does not have the capacity to deliver a full suite of service to the consumer. When a deliver mechanism exists that can deliver 30 times that capacity, the dream of a single connection for all electronic service will become a reality. There are currently technologies being worked on that will have this capacity. My guess is within the next five years, perhaps less, new wireless technology that can deliver this kind of service will be available. Who will benefit from this new technology? Perhaps the providers that currently have a foothold in the industry today or perhaps the traditional ISPs if they can move quickly enough to take advantage of the new technology when it presents itself. For certain, the consumer will benefit from such a development.

Notable Device

On the convention center floor, exhibitors were displaying all manners of wireless gear including 900MHz non-line of site equipment that boasted 4Mb at a 3 mile range. Many 2.5Ghz and other solutions that, while more line of site, offered faster speeds and longer distances were also available. One item caught the eye of this reporter; a point to point laser bandwidth deliver system by Optical Wireless. It boasted a range of up to 1 Kilometer while transferring from 8Mb up to 2.5Gb (approximately OC-48 speeds). Retail price of this system ranges from $8k to $100k depending on capabilities.