Ofcom consults on super fast wireless broadband

Satdude

Ofcom consults on super fast wireless broadband

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom yesterday launched a consultation on the opportunities for fixed broadband wireless services, by opening the 71-76GHz and 81-86GHz bands for licensed use.

It is thought that this sp*ctrum would be suited to point to point wireless services, supporting speeds of up to 10Gbps over 1-2km, allowing fixed wireless operators to compete with fibre broadband players.

By comparison, copper loops typically enable connection speeds of between 1 and 24Mbps.

But UK fixed broadband player Thus believes it will be some time before a true wireless competitor to fibre can emerge, and at most the technology will be a means of augmenting fibre connectivity in hard to reach rural areas.

"A great deal of money has already gone in to the provision of fibre, and the technology has proven that it can deliver high-grade business-quality broadband," Thus said. "Operators and businesses alike have already invested far too much in this technology to wish to abandon it for a new set of investments in an unproven wireless technology."

The fixed line player also believes that although the spectrum is not presently in commercial usage, before the proposed bands are put to use there is the official standards process of developing the technology and then proving it works, which will give fibre the opportunity to establish itself as the dominant means of broadband connection.

However, Thus did concede that the proposed spectrum may be suited to remote and geographically complex regions, where fibre can be expensive and difficult to implement.

Ofcom is proposing that the band should be licensed on a first come, first served basis, rather than auctioned, as the band's unusual properties - high bandwidth, narrow beam - mean that a very large number of users could co-exist without interference. Demand for the sp*ctrum is therefore very unlikely to exceed supply.

Regards Satdude.