* WiMAX could save local competition
One of the biggest opportunities for WiMAX might lie in a recent controversial Federal Communications Commission decision.
The FCC last month passed rules that would largely free incumbent local-exchange carriers (ILEC) of their unbundling obligations to competitive providers. At the end of the day, that move simply makes it tougher for non-facilities-based terrestrial carriers to compete in the local loop.
There are several potential uses for budding WiMAX technology, among them broadband wireless last-mile services. WiMAX is an informal name for two emerging standards: 802.16-2004, which was ratified in June 2004, covers fixed and portable broadband wireless products in the sub-11-GHz band, and products are slated to be WiMAX Forum-certified and interoperability tested this summer. Another WiMAX flavor, 802.16e, is a mobile version, and it should become a standard in mid-2005.
It’s possible that having a broadband wireless access standard will be the way that competitive carriers finally rid themselves of the incumbent factor altogether. The reason is that a wireless alternative precludes the need for access to any of the ILECs’ cabling or traditional switching equipment.
Wireless carriers can deploy services faster than traditional ILECs because they don’t have to worry about digging trenches and laying cable. Some of the current regional broadband wireless carriers reportedly turn service up in about a day, compared with what often takes ILECs several weeks. With standards-based products, customers should theoretically be able move wireless CPE around from office to office and have it work with different vendors’ base-station gear at service providers’ points of presence.
In December, the FCC voted 3-to-2 to abolish Unbundled Network Element-Platform (UNE-P) whereby a carrier pays a regulated fee to use an ILEC’s entire set of network elements to form an end-to-end circuit on which it deploys services. It also voted to eliminate unbundling obligations in many DS1 and DS3 wiring centers. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement that the rules were “carefully designed to pass judicial muster.”
