Thursday, February 4, 2010
When the average consumer thinks of wireless broadband, they consider it synonymous with mobile broadband. Wireless and Mobile devices are so tightly interwoven in our day-to-day lives, we naturally assume that anything wireless implies that it is mobile and vice-versa. In fact, I had to be corrected on numerous occasions when I first joined the Accel Networks team. I had to change the way I thought about wireless broadband.

Or did I? The truth about fixed wireless broadband is that it still shares much of the same benefits associated with so-called "mobile" broadband. Of course, as the name clearly says, it is fixed. It is provisioned for one location and, although the last-mile connection is serviced wirelessly, it functions within the c-store, retail store, kiosk, or what-have-you in much the same way as wired broadband solutions do.

So why not drop the mobile connotations altogether? Well, consider for a moment what mobile broadband effectively accomplishes. I'm at home, pull out my smart phone, pop open a browser. Instantly, I'm assigned an IP address (if one isn't already assigned) and routed to the internet via the nearest cell tower. I slide it into my pocket and drive to my in-laws for dinner, pull it out, and repeat. What's happening? I'm effectively provisioning a connection all over again, and in real-time.

Ask yourself this: how many times does a small business move locations? Tier-2 office spaces offer 1 or 3 year lease options because of the agility that growing businesses need. Even retail is always vying for the better location, and if a high-traffic corner can be had you'll break the most costly lease to get there. Or consider expanding businesses entering new markets, new locations, new strip-malls, emerging communities, etc.

How long does it take to get these new locations online and running when copper cable has to hit the d-box, then the punch panel, before finally getting the POS system onto the company network.

Perhaps "mobility" is not the right term, but the business concepts that come to mind are very reminiscent of mobile applications: agility, flexibility, speed of transition, and of course (as Verizon and AT&T are warring over in advertising today) the ubiquitous nature of the network.

So, the next time you get corrected over the jargon -- mobile vs. fixed wireless -- consider this: fixed wireless broadband is anything but immobilized.

Labels: C-store, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Retail

posted by Nick Carter at 8:37 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
March 17th is the deadline for the FCC to deliver what is being called a "national broadband plan" to congress. Following the Recovery Act in 2009, funding (and awareness over the need) was made available for ramping up broadband infrastructure in the U.S. as part of an overall plan to bolster our economy and remain competitive nationally. By the urging of this blog and countless other activists in the broadband community, the FCC has received no shortage of input on the broadband plan.

Last Friday, another big player joined the mix. The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) filed it's comments with the FCC. What did they have to say? According to their own report to WISPA members and constituents, their focus involved 6 major points:

1. Many rural communities do not yet have access to broadband (24 million households).

2. Without access to broadband, the best and brightest young people usually leave for bigger cities causing a “rural brain drain” that negatively affects rural economies.

3. WISPs who want to extend service to unserved and underserved rural communities need both better access to funding and better access to spectrum.

4. WISPA suggests several methods of improving WISP funding mechanisms, including the creation of a “Universal Broadband Fund”.

5. WISPA also suggests several methods of improving access to clean spectrum for WISPs. The availability of clean spectrum positions WISPs to benefit from more favorable funding options.

6. The FCC’s support and promotion of WISPA’s suggestions in the National Broadband Plan (including this filing) will help revitalize America’s economy.

Not surprisingly, the focus remains on rural broadband access as well as continued talk over the spectrums available to wireless broadband. Whatever the outcome, the most important matter, however, is that the FCC receives enough support and public outcry to make sure that on March 17th, congress indeed sees the great need for change. You can provide your own feedback at www.broadband.gov.

Labels: Broadband Plan, FCC, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Rural Broadband, WISPA

posted by Nick Carter at 3:46 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Over the past year, the issue of the FCC's broadband plan has come up over and over on this blog. One of the most important topics, of course, is the charge to tell the FCC your thoughts on Fixed Wireless Broadband. Well, guess what! They listened.

Tony Bradley of PC World reported just a few weeks ago: FCC Urged to Expand Wireless Broadband Access. Urged how? Via the very request for your input that we shared months back. The FCC has sought input via formal submission, as well as via social media, blogs, etc. The Government, it would appear, is listening to the people.

As Bradley's article notes, however, one of the overwhelming proposals on the table has to do with the availability of spectrum. In April of last year, we reported on Verizon's buy-up of a huge chunk of the 700mz spectrum. But that brings up two dilemmas: do we want only one company dominating the FCC licenses, and even so, is this spectrum enough?

If fixed wireless broadband is indeed the technology that can make broadband ubiquity a reality in the U.S., then shouldn't we have more spectrum devoted to it? That's what some critics are suggesting. However, the Department of Justice is not so quick to meddle where existing media markets are already succeeding. The switch to digital television, after all, went SOOO smoothly, we certainly don't want to endure such a switch-a-roo again.

The lines haven't closed. Your voice can still be heard. Let the FCC know your thoughts on Fixed Wireless Broadband.

Labels: Broadband Plan, FCC, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Stimulus, Verizon

posted by Nick Carter at 7:11 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Nearly three years ago now, my wife and I bought our first home. It's a rewarding experience, and one that is tightly woven into the "American Dream." I was (and am) very proud to be a home-owner. But, for being such a staple of American society, it is really a treacherous process where good advice is hard to find. For example: we're now getting ready to have our first child... there's classes, brochures, DVD's and hordes of mothers who offer their advice. With home buying... there seemed to be an unspoken expectation that we figure it our for ourselves.

One of the major pitfalls we fortunately avoided was in selecting a mortgage. I have banked with the same bank for my entire adult life. They gave me my first checking account, my first car loan, my small business credit when I wanted to strike out on my own... why wouldn't I get my mortgage there, too? I filled out an application, they told me my rate, and that was that. Right? Wrong!

You see, the bank I was with was very good at lending to large property owners with established credit (I'm a farm-kid... it was my dad's bank he used to finance the farm). But that wasn't me. So, where did I turn? If you're an experienced home-owner, you're already shaking your head at me. I called a mortgage broker, of course. He took my information, knew which lenders would suit my situation best, and then shopped them all for the best rate.

In short, I chose the lender that met my needs instead of paying a premium because I didn't meet one lender's needs. It's what we call a customer-centric buying experience.

Accel-Networks is the only multi-carrier wireless broadband provider in the U.S. Why does that matter? In short, Accel is the broker of wireless broadband. But, it's even more customer-centric than that. Whereas a mortgage is an all-or-nothing deal, a wireless network has multiple sites all interconnected. With Accel Networks, each location is matched to the best wireless carrier on a discreet basis, and yet Accel assimilates one network with one SLA managed by one vendor: Accel.

If you're considering wireless broadband for any or all of your applications, don't limit your options. Go with the only provider with a multi-carrier reach.

Labels: Broadband, Customer-Centric, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Multi-Carrier, Wireless

posted by Nick Carter at 6:00 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Friday, January 1, 2010
Last week, the futuristic science-fiction film Avatar and Pandora's data network inspired me to dream of a far-off future broadband network on earth. This week, my feet are planted more firmly on the ground. As a new year and a new decade dawns, what can we expect from wireless in the near future.

Top 5 Wireless Broadband Developments to Anticipate in 2010:

1. iPhone Tethering. As an avid iPhone user, I have resisted the last several OS updates for fear that they will shut down the slight modifications I've made to enable tethering (the very connection I am using to post this article). In order to keep up with competition (i.e. droid), they'll have to open this feature to their users.
2. 4G rollouts made available to most major metro areas. Whereas now its still a rare find and something most people don't even know about, 4G will be the talk of techno-toys next Christmas season.
3. FCC's Broadband Plan. They're due to present the plan to Congress this year, which means we could start to see the new policies and procedures in place before the end of 2010.
   
4. The Verizon/Google Home Internet Package. The droid/VZW pair-up is just the beginning. With Google's ubiquitous exposure to the consumer today, and Verizon's extensive network, look for the pair to release a home internet package to rival the Cable providers and--of course--"The" phone company.
5. 3G Enabled Vehicles. Pair this with the prospect of VOIP over wireless networks and you've got the ability for your home phone and internet to follow you wherever you go.
   

Now, I must offer the disclaimer that these are merely light-hearted and hopeful predictions based on my own personal observation. I don't have an insider track to Google's product release, and I'm not offering competitive investment advice. Just some fun, and hopefully inspiring, predictions on this New Year's Day!

Happy New Year!

Labels: FCC, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Google, New Year, Verizon

posted by Nick Carter at 7:19 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Before you conclude that this is just a shameless excuse for a geek to use his blog as a platform to rant on the latest sci-fi movie... ok, you might be partially right. But there's something to this notion. The creator(s) of the new movie Avatar had impressively imaginative minds--something lacking in films of recent. Not the least of their "inventions" was a biological broadband network of sorts, which served as the backbone to connect all life on the planet Pandora.

In effect, the fantasy world where the Na'vi people live is connected by a data network we only... well... fantasize about. The vegetation root systems interconnect to form a network backbone of impressive stature. In an early scene, we see the research crew measuring electronic transmissions through a root of a tree. Later, researcher Grace Augustine explains the significance of this find to the money-hungry corporate executive. The redundancy, reach, and shear bandwidth capabilities of the network which connects all of Pandora is beyond any human's capability to build with copper cable and fiber-optics.

Even more fascinating, however, was James Cameron's imaginitive method for how animal life forms connected to this network. Rather than with mechanical or artificial means, all animals--including the human-like Na'vi--are equipped with a special organ which serves as a universal "jack" of sorts to link into the planet's network. This bundle of nerves which grows out of all creatures' heads can link them into the planetary network, or create "peer-to-peer" connections between horse and rider, or other symbiotic relationships.

So, how does this all relate to the broadband of today? I find it fascinating to note how sci-fi has influenced reality over the past half-century. The creators of Star-Trek imagined a world where each person would have a personal wireless communication device. Now I can't buy a gallon of milk without seeing someone's blue-tooth in their ear like a peice of jewelry. Will James Cameron's personal cat5 jack ever catch on? Will the earth ever be covered with such a ubiquitous network? There is no doubt that the future of our communication lies in the data network that now covers our globe. Cameron's fantasy world, no doubt, reflects the awesome prospect of what that network could mean for our society, if indeed we can accomplish it.

Labels: Avatar, Broadband, James Cameron, Na'vi, Pandora

posted by Nick Carter at 5:01 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Friday, December 18, 2009
I was at a client's site recently talking with the technical staff about features they hadn't been utilizing and some of the new features coming out soon. As we were talking, a gentleman with graying hair and weathered skin walked into the room looking quite disheveled. At a glance, you might pick him for the mail man, or perhaps a janitor. After introducing himself, he looked me square in the eye and said, "you know, I invented the Internet."

I thought he was doing his best Al Gore impression. After a chuckle, I realized he was still staring at me quite seriously, and our hand-shake had turned into a static firm grip. "Back in the 80's, we had our first computers, and I wrote a program so we could pass floppies around the office and collaborate on projects with a single point of data."

Floppies? He thought a floppy-disc sharing method was tantamount to the Internet?

I graciously congratulated him and quickly changed the subject. But, it's not an experience I will quickly forget. And, it all makes me wonder: what is the "wonder" of the Internet. This guy had one thing right--Berners-Lee and Cailliau weren't the first people to imagine how computers could expedite collaboration. But, is that the Internet?

In truth, what the man could probably had made a better case for was that he invented the World Wide Web, which is often used interchangably with the term Internet, but actually describes a separate solution. Of course, the floppy-sharing system is more of an "Office-Wide-Web", the principal was nonetheless advanced for its time. In either case, office-wide or world-wide, this web is the sharing of documents, ideas, data, etc. via some dispersed network.

The Internet, then, is actually that network--not the sharing itself. And, to answer the question, "what is the wonder of the internet," for my money you can't find a better wonder than the ubiquitous availability of the network.

The floppy-disc sharing program that made this man so proud lacked one thing that the Internet offers: a true network. People carrying discs down the hall does not qualify. The Internet connects billions of terminals onto one network simultaneously. And, lest that sound too impressive, don't forget that we have been transmitting data across oceans and continents for nearly a century now. It's not connecting the continents that's such a wonder, it's connecting the terminals.

Yes, the end-user computers, company servers, PDA's, ATM machines and slushy machines--getting to these locations is more impressive, I would argue, than the laying of the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic. Why? because of the endless unique switching that must occur.

It's called the "last mile" - and it is this last mile which the aforementioned floppy-disc system would have struggled to complete effectively. Just as it is easy to run a cable from London to New York, so it would be to carry a diskette that distance. It's getting replicas of that diskette to all 12 Million people in the region that would impress me. And, even with countless miles of copper cable, fiber optic, and GSM towers sprawling across the globe, the feat still blows my mind.

Hat's off to people like Paul Baran and Leonard Kleinrock. As for the other self-proclaimed inventors of the Internet, thanks for your ingenuity however grandiose it may have been.

Labels: "Internet infrastructure", I Invented the Internet, Internet, Last Mile, World Wide Web

posted by Nick Carter at 6:12 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments