Monday, November 7, 2011

It Depends on Your Definition of Fast

Last week’s post discussed the FCC’s decision to end the obsolete Universal Service Fun and replace it with a new fund focused on subsidizing increased rural broadband access. One of the new fund’s requirements is that providers create a network that allows for 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds. Despite what some might say, that’s not fast.

Need proof? Consider this: Competitive Companies Inc. (CCI) just announced that it has deployed its 4G+ Mobile Broadband technology with average mobile broadband speeds exceeding 25 Mbps. And that’s a conservative number. Company CEO William Gray said that download speeds could ultimately be more than 100 Mbps, far faster than anything currently on the market.

Here’s how it works: To deliver 4G+ speeds, CCI uses Wytec, Incorporated’s patented Multichannel Radio Frequency Transmission (MRFT) technology. By combining that with cognitive radio and macro-diversity technology,a Group Cooperative Relay, mesh network architecture, and frequency banding, CCI can deliver super-fast broadband.The cost of delivery is also less because CCI manages spectrum use and administers transmission power.

Back to speed. On one hand, the government is pushing old technology that requires certain speeds that many would consider irrelevant. On the other hand, you have companies developing technologies that are faster, cheaper, adaptable, and easier to implement. The bottom line is that there’s a disconnect between what’s necessary and what’s possible. The FCC needs to start thinking more in terms of the latter.

Labels: 4G, Broadband Speed, FCC, Fixed Wireless Broadband