An omen... munchkins ARE coming soon...
> The Rapidly Changing Face of Computing
> April 28, 1997
> by Jeffrey R. Harrow (harrow@mail.dec.com)
> ...
> There's lots of bandwidth out there; the trick is getting it to the
> smaller offices or homes that can't afford the high speed lines we
> typically see only in large corporate facilities. How to get the
> bandwidth across that proverbial "last mile" remains a problem which is
> getting close scrutiny from ISDN, cable modems, xDSL, satellites
I forgot to mention that munchkins are high speed enough to make the
"last mile" in bandwidth a nonissue.
*snip*
------------------------- 8< --------------------------------------
> Have you ever thought that, with all of those cable TV systems
> crisscrossing our cities and towns providing lots of focused TV
> channels, some of the old UHF TV channels might no longer be
> needed? And if they are unneeded, might their unused spectrum be
> available for other purposes?
>
> Indeed, that's exactly what San Jose's Warp Drive Networks (WDN -
> http://www.warpdrive.net/hires/index.htm) asked, and proceeded to
> become the first FCC-licensed company to provide wireless one-way
> Internet service over a UHF TV channel (512 - 600 MHz) as well as
> via the 2.1 GHz MDS spectrum. Scheduled for a June introduction in
> Silicon Valley and Seattle, then expanding to other U.S. cities
> later this year, their first product will be "Warp.128" service.
>
> To get your Internet connection "Warped" you need a special
> antenna ($150), a single-user Router ($395), there's a $50 startup
> fee, and then the 128 Kbit/second unlimited use one-way service
> will cost you $150/month. (Like DirecPC and other broadcast
> Internet services, your data goes TO the Internet via a
> traditional 33.6 modem). But suppose you have several computers,
> or that 128 Kbits/second (ISDN speed) isn't fast enough for you?
> WDN will also be offering multi-user wireless Routers for offices
> (or seriously high-tech homes), and eventually plans to offer
> speeds in increments up to 10 Mbit/second (which would cost $5,000
> to start up, plus $2,650/month for a single user). There's an
> interesting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) paper at
> http://www.warpdrive.net/hires/faq.htm .
>
> Of course, it remains to be seen how this will play out. For
> example, although WDN claims that they can send data at rates
> equivalent to what seven T1 lines can carry (or as they put it
> "400 28.8 Kbit/second modems,") I wonder what the aggregate
> throughput of a given city's WDN transmitter will be. (For
> example, if the transmitter can, at any given moment, handle
> around 100 128 Kbit/second streams, what happens if there are 800
> people each trying to download 20 Mbyte Internet Explorer Preview
> Releases at the same time?)
>
> And in a related development brought to our attention by John Rowlett:
>
> Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) is a new wireless
> service developed by the NJ firm "CellularVision Technology &
> Telecommunications" (CT&T). LMDS operates in the 28 GHz range with
> a 6-inch square antenna, using 1 GHz of spectrum for "cellular TV"
> services (essentially wireless cable), and another 1 GHz for a
> broad array of wireless digital data -- everything from Internet
> connections to telephone and even videophone calls. Of particular
> interest, LMDS is a 2-way service, providing a return path (from
> the subscriber TO the head end, and hence out onto the Internet)
> by using cross polarization techniques. CT&T expects to roll out
> service in the New York metro area within the next six months.
>
> And, based on a new wireless modem developed by the Israeli firm
> New Media Communications and licensed to CT&T, the Feb. 24
> Business Week indicates that data services over LMDS can be FAST
> -- up to 54 Mbits/second (although CT&T's "Futures" page suggests
> a limit of 25 Mbits/second). Details are at
> http://www.cellularvision.com/homepage.nf.html .
>
> Of course with any shared services such as these (where each individual
> user does not have their own dedicated pipe), it remains to be seen how
> well each service actually operates in a real-world environment. But
> regardless of how well (or poorly) these individual wireless data
> services actually perform, they represent important examples of the
> innovative competition that, in my opinion, is going to guarantee high
> speed and pervasive access to the Information Highway for those who
> want it.
>
> It also makes me think that, with competition like this, the
> established phone companies will have to provide their own higher speed
> offerings sooner, rather than later, if they wish to leverage their
> massive copper infrastructure.
>
> The bottom-line? High-speed data, by one means or another, WILL BE
> coming.
>
> Now if one of these will just come to my neighborhood...
>
> ...
>
> Who might say that -- and mean it? What might Giga-dollars and
> Giga-cheeseburgers have in common with the Zurich airport?
>
> Find out in Albert Frankley's "Chewing the Fat With Bill," in the
> -April- issue of Upside at
> http://www.upside.com/texis/archive/search/article.html?UID=9704011002b
Cute article.
----
adam@cs.caltech.edu
I'm your one natural one, take it easy.
-- Folk Implosion