A sign of the times?
In a move that signals the rising demand for scarce wireless networking
skills, Speedcom Wireless Corp.,
a Sarasota, Florida-based wireless broadband solutions provider, has converted
its InstallGuys services division
into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The company says the change is intended to put the company in a better
position to capitalize on a rapidly growing broadband wireless services
market. Pioneer Consulting
predicts the market will grow from $.09 billion in 2001 to $12.6 billion
in 2006.
“As the worldwide demand for mobile computing and remote Internet access
increases, the corresponding requirement for site surveys, network design
and integration services will also accelerate,” says Richard Dean, program
manager at IDC, the Framingham, Mass.
market research firm.
“Driving much of the demand for network consulting services are the
ISPs who are scrambling to become established in certain markets ahead
of the competitive field. This aggressive expansion should provide a window
of opportunity for consulting organizations with the skills and experience
to implement solutions for their clients quickly and efficiently.”
Now in its sixth year of operation, InstallGuys is a vendor-independent
wireless broadband services organization dedicated to the Service Provider
(ISP, CLEC, LEC, and Telco) and Enterprise (corporations, schools and
universities, military) markets.
The company provides wireless turnkey services including RF site surveys,
engineering plans, and installation and maintenance of customers’ wireless
broadband equipment and facilities.
InstallGuys personnel work with most of the leading wireless technologies,
including unlicensed spread spectrum, licensed microwave (MMDS and LMDS),
infrared, and laser, from a wide range of vendors.
In addition to its InstallGuys subsidiary, Speedcom has a manufacturing
division, Wave Wireless Networking,
that makes a variety of broadband wireless products, including its SpeedLAN
family of wireless Ethernet routers.
Service providers get a say
Among other business in a packed two-day session earlier this month, the
Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF)
adopted a new Advisor membership category for fixed wireless service providers
and operators.
Advisor members will be able to participate in the Forum’s activities
and provide the Forum with assistance in developing technical requirements.
The Forum also used the meeting to outline its ambitious advocacy program
aimed at setting industry standards for broadband wireless access to the
Internet, streaming audio, and video and voice communication.
The BWIF is a program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology
Organization (IEEE-ISTO). The standards the Forum is developing are based
on Vector Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (VOFDM) technology.
VOFDM is a version of MIMO OFDM (Multiple Input Multiple Output Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiplexing). It minimizes the line-of-sight limitations
and installation problems faced by other broadband wireless access technologies.
The BWIF was formed in July 2000. Cisco
Systems Inc. at that time contributed several patent-pending VOFDM
innovations. The BWIF-approved Version 1.0 Specifications have been available
since late August 2000 to BWIF members.
Global membership in the Forum has grown quickly to 38 companies, mostly
equipment and component manufacturers
Surf’s up in Illinois
Broadband wireless equipment vendor WaveRider
Communications Inc. of Toronto, Canada announced another service provider
installation of its Last Mile Solution (LMS) products earlier this month.
The company has deployed its 2.4-GHz-based LMS2000 product for IlliCom
Telecommunications, an Illinois-based ISP. The equipment is now delivering
high-speed Internet access to IlliCom business subscribers in East-Central
Illinois.
On completion of the LMS2000 installation, IlliCom, a subsidiary of
Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, will be able to provide high-speed
Internet access to hundreds of business customers over its wireless network.
The company plans to further expand wireless coverage over the next two
years.
In addition, IlliCom intends to deploy WaveRider’s LMS3000. Says IlliCom
general manager Kevin Osterbur, “WaveRider’s Last Mile Solution products
have enabled us to deploy cost effective, high-speed wireless service
in a short period of time and to quickly expand our wireless service area
to serve more rural markets.”
WaveRider’s LMS2000 is a fully networked wireless system that uses spread-spectrum
technology in the license-free 2.4 GHz band. The LMS2000 has been deployed
in markets worldwide to provide wireless Internet access to large, medium
and small businesses.
The LMS3000, scheduled for sale in commercial volumes in 2001, provides
non-line-of-sight wireless Internet access to business and residential
users at speeds up to 1Mbps.
