Simply put, wireless broadband is an access technology that offers high-speed data access over the air. A wireless broadband network, typically operating at frequency bands less than 6 GHz, provides broadband speeds ranging from 256 kbps to tens of Mbps. Each base station generally serves an area of up to several square kilometers.
Wireless broadband networks can deliver network connectivity to fixed locations using standards like IEEE 802.16d, and in the near future, to mobile users using standards like IEEE 802.16e and IEEE 802.20.
Wireless broadband devices use radio waves to transmit and receive data over the air without relying on any physical connection. In a typical wireless broadband network, base stations connect to a network backbone and use an outdoor antenna to send and receive high-speed data to the subscriber's terminal equipment. This reduces the need for wireline infrastructure.
Various parties stand to gain from the deployment of wireless broadband products and services.
For operators, wireless broadband networks help them roll-out data communication services like Internet broadband more quickly and at lower costs as they need not set up wireline infrastructure. These benefits may spur more players into entering the broadband industry, thereby creating a healthy competitive environment for the development of innovative products and services.
More wireless broadband players in the market translate to a greater range of innovative choices to cater to the mobile broadband needs of consumers and enterprise users. This in turn may lead to more competitive prices for wireless broadband products and services.
With the emergence of wireless broadband standards such as IEEE 802.16 and IEEE 802.20, equipment vendors can create products and solutions that can interoperate. With interoperability comes economies of scale that may mean more competitively-priced products and solutions for end users.