Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Breaking the Chains: Unlicensed Spectrum as a Last-Mile Broadband Solution

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2003 08:47:28 -0400

Breaking the Chains:   Unlicensed Spectrum as a Last-Mile Broadband Solution

By James H. Johnston
Telecom Attorney and Author
and J.H. Snider
Senior Research Fellow

New America Foundation
June 1, 2003

Abstract

In recent years, the sluggish telecommunications industry has been buzzed by
the wild-fire success of "Wi-Fi" -- a technology that uses license-exempt
spectrum to allow many users to share a single high-speed Internet
connection on a wireless basis. Hotels and coffee shops are turning into “hot
spots” - and campuses and public spaces into wireless "hot zones." Now, this
low-power, inexpensive technology has advanced beyond Starbucks to connect
thousands of rural and suburban consumers - farms, small businesses,
home-schooling families and others - offering an affordable solution to the
"last mile" problem. But is Wi-Fi just the tip of the iceberg of the unlicensed
wireless revolution, or is it the iceberg itself? If it is just the tip, then much
or all
of the rest of the "last mile" (or last 40 miles) can also be freed from its wired

and government-licensed chains.

The authors of this paper explore the evolution of Wi-Fi--from the technology's
nascent application as a localized, "Hot Spot" solution; to its expanded utility
in
linking wider areas through "Hot Zones;" to its current and most exciting
iteration as a last-mile broadband provider through unlicensed "Hot Pathways."
This working paper, and the summary Issue Brief of the same title, widens the
last-mile debate by calling for a revised spectrum policy to account for the
recent technological and entrepreneurial successes occurring in the
unlicensed bands. The paper profiles success stories from Wireless Internet
Service Providers (WISPs) and Community Access Networks (CANs) across
the country and abroad.

The authors compare technological and policy options to deliver broadband
service to all Americans, including: evaluating the trade-offs for licensed versus

unlicensed spectrum; comparing the economic and policy arguments for
wireless deployment versus upgrading cable and DSL lines to reach
households; and the possibility of using alternative spectrum bands, such as
the low frequency (VHF) broadcast bands, to span the last mile more efficiently
and economically. Drawing on recent New America Foundation research data
demonstrating the grossly underutilized spectrum in the lower frequencies, the
authors argue that if last-mile providers had access to the “white space” in the
underutilized low-frequency bands (below 800 MHz), both WISPs and non-profit
community networks could more cost-effectively transmit broadband access
over many square kilometers—and through the canopy of trees that surround
many residential and commercial areas.

Based on a careful evaluation of available evidence, the authors provide
recommendations for policy makers to update and jumpstart the last-mile
debate--advocating a flexible solution with profound economic, technological
and social benefits.

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