Feeling squeezed? Even with speedy T1 connections, many companies can't pump data through their pipes fast enough. Sooner or later it comes back to bite themâ€"-in lost opportunities, soaring costs, and slumping productivity. For a growing stampede of these enterprises, the best solution for greater bandwidth lies in snipping the wires. Fixed-wireless technology has been around for years. It provides a high-speed Internet or network connection via a wireless receiver that is permanently installed outside a building, usually on the roof. But recently the range of choices and technological advances has exploded, making fixed wireless a viable option for businesses that wouldn't have considered wireless access even two years ago. What's more, service is finally available in most major cities.
With fixed wireless, browsing your company's intranet, sending email, or downloading large files is no more complicated than it would be using any other high-speed Internet link. But because data travels through the air instead of over copper lines, cable, or fibre, fixed wireless allows for downstream connections ranging from 500Kbps to 155Mbpsâ€"-faster than DSL, cable, or T1 lines. (Data moves upstream at about one-third the speed.) And since the system is stationary, it blows away connection speeds for mobile phones and handheld devices, which typically offer rates of 14.4Kbps. Businesses now use fixed-wireless connections for broadband access to the Internet or a wide-area network (WAN), linking multiple company locations together.
It's no wonder that annual revenue nationwide for fixed-wireless service is expected to skyrocket almost 150 percent this year to nearly US$2 billion, topping $16 billion by 2004, according to the Strategis Group research firm. Business subscribers totalled about 15,000 in 1999, when wireless companies began rolling out networks. Last year, Strategis reports, subscriber numbers hit 65,000. And projections for the next three years show no sign of waning: 175,000 for 2001, 390,000 for 2002, and 670,000 business subscribers for 2003.
These numbers are impressive, but what can the technology do for you? Fixed wireless isn't problem-freeâ€"-nor is it bulletproof. But service has profoundly improved over the past 18 months. And once you run the numbers on costs, you're likely to be sold on it.
