The ability to serve the homes, enterprise and the
mass market settings is what makes Wi-Fi more compelling than any other
radio technology such as HomeRF, Bluetooth or fixed access services, a top
Agere Systems official said.
In fact, for just that reason, Wi-Fi has supplanted next-generation
cellular systems and made the race for 3G obsolete, said Allan Scott,
Director Marketing and Business Development at Agere Systems’ Wireless
Communications & Networking Division.
“WiFi is 3G,” Scott told attendees at the inaugural 802.11-Planet
Conference and Expo here at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
All the major regional Bell operating companies are quietly becoming
involved with the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance, the non-profit
trade organization that seeks to certify interoperability of 802.11 products
and coined the phrase “Wi-Fi.” In addition, fixed wireless service providers
such as Sprint have already folded its ION operations, effectively raising
the white flag for local multi-point distribution services (LMDS) and
multi-channel, multi-point distribution services (MMDS…a.k.a. wireless
DSL), the Agere official said.
To be sure, Scott acknowledges that outdoor fixed wireless will have its
place — just not in its current LMDS or MMDS forms. With multiple user
environments’ traditionally congested backbones, Scott believes the expanded
channel capacity of 802.11a devices can relieve the bottlenecks while
802.11b devices will still allow individual last-mile connection.
“Today…all it takes is this $75 NIC and you can access the Internet at
very high speeds,” Scott said.
Although some believe the Wi-Fi market is still at a very early, nascent
stage, Scott admitted that it is maturing. Agere’s marketing efforts aren’t
so much aimed at convincing wireless LAN adoption as it is convincing users
to adopt Agere equipment. The company on Tuesday unveiled a new broadband gateway targeted towards the SOHO sector.
“Another indication of how far that market has come,” he said.
