the Digital Town Hall

It is highly encouraging to see the groundswell of support for establishing a comprehensive national broadband strategy that will help make internet access a reality for more Americans. The fact that more than 20 million Americans live in areas that do not have even a single option for broadband connectivity is unacceptable, especially given the technologies that exist today to easily and cost-effectively extend broadband services to under-served areas.

Advances in wireless technology have brought us to a place where wireless technologies can provide greater performance than existing wired infrastructure at nearly one tenth of the cost. And the inherent scalability and flexibility of wireless technology makes it the ideal solution for providing rural areas with high-performance broadband service. Therefore, in order to cost-effectively bridge the digital divide, the use of wireless technology to efficiently deliver broadband service to under-served areas is the most fiscally responsible option.

With this in mind, it is paramount that we understand the wireless technologies available today that can help make broadband access for everyone a reality. While there are endless discussions about the merits of technologies such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX, LTE and more, it is important to understand that it will likely require a blend of these technologies to achieve this goal.

For example, WiMAX is a technology that has received a great deal of attention over the last few years. WiMAX offers greater throughout than legacy Wi-Fi technologies, as well as much greater range – therefore making it an ideal technology for connecting rural communities. But how will people connect to the network once it arrives? Over 500 million laptops today have already shipped with Wi-Fi technology built in – but there are very few WiMAX devices commercially available. Therefore, it makes more sense for WiMAX to be used as a backhaul technology (to extend the broadband connection from point A to point B), and then use Wi-Fi technologies (which people can easily access with available equipment) as the access technology.

And now that Wi-Fi technology has evolved to the new 802.11n standard, which can provide more than 300Mbps connectivity, the performance and cost benefits of wireless only multiply. WiMAX can extend the reach of wireless networks extremely far (eliminating the high cost of fiber or copper), and then 802.11n can be used to extend easily accessible Wi-Fi with more throughput (and the ability to support more people), which further reduces the overall cost of the network.

Wireless broadband networks can be deployed incredibly cost effectively, while still providing a high quality broadband experience. Wireless technology, combined with policies that clear the way for easy access to street lights, lamp poles and public buildings for mounting wireless radios, is absolutely necessary for the successful execution of not only delivering affordable broadband access, but doing so in the most cost-effective way possible. This becomes even more important in this economic landscape, to ensure that any money earmarked for a “broadband bailout” is used in the most fiscally responsible way possible.