FIBER ADVOCATES DON'T SEE WI-FI AS LAST-MILE SOLUTION
Group of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business leaders told Capitol Hill audience Thurs. that Wi-Fi wireless broadband hadn’t been useful last-mile solution for broadband deployment. At FTTH Council panel in Hart Senate Office Building, experts who have deployed fiber and support it as solution said Wi-Fi worked well within home, but it wasn’t seen as viable for last-mile use. Their opinions came after Sens. Allen (R-Va.) and Boxer (D-Cal.) proffered draft legislation, along with letter to colleagues, that would allocate more spectrum for unlicensed usages such as Wi-Fi (CD Nov 21 p3).
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Wi-Fi was used to augment FTTH network constructed in Grant County, Wash., senior telecom engineer Jonathan Moore said. But he said it wasn’t viable option for last-mile deployment. Michael Render, author of study “Fiber to the Home and Optical Broadband 2002,” said: “To cover the whole community [for Wi-Fi,] you would need many, many towers.” He said that even if Wi-Fi were to be used, fiber still would have to be laid close to homes as towers would have to be centrally located to homes. Max Kipfer, gen. mgr. of OpenBand of Va., FTTH network in Northern Va., said widespread Wi-Fi also created data security challenges. Jeff Wick, who as COO of Nex-Tech oversaw build-out in small Kan. towns, said grain silos had made good wireless towers.
House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) doesn’t believe Wi-Fi is last-mile solution either, said spokesman Ken Johnson. But there would be some form of companion to potential Senate bill as Rep. Markey (D-Mass.) is likely to reintroduce form of his “Wireless Technology Investment and Digital Dividends Act” (HR-4641), his staffer told us. Bill as introduced this year would: (1) Create permanent public interest trust fund from license auctions that would advance public interest telecom initiatives such as education. (2) Establish “spectrum commons” of unlicensed airways. (3) Establish policy before holding auctions. “Spectrum commons” would be established in one 20 MHz band below 2 GHz and 300- 500 MHz in area between 2 GHz and 6 GHz. Markey’s staffer said legislation in upcoming 108th Congress might not incorporate all elements from HR-4641, but there probably would be some form of “spectrum commons” proposal.
Study showed FTTH deployments were growing at rate of more than 300% annually and would reach 1 million homes by 2004, Render told panel that was sponsored by TIA and Information Technology Industry Council. Economic development in smaller communities will help drive demand for advanced services, he said. In Grant County, Wash., public utility district is expected to have built out FTTH to county’s 36,000 homes by 2006. County has 19 competing ISPs (which Moore predicted eventually would drop to 4 or 5), one telephone provider and 2 competing digital video providers. Grant County, which is mostly agricultural, had to lobby Wash. legislature and governor to win changes that would allow public utility to build telecom network. $120 million project was funded partly with county’s cash reserves.