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Without question, wireless technology has had a profound impact on the telecommunications industry. Perhaps no other technology has affected traditional telephony more, with possibly the exception of the Internet. What's interesting though, is that for all intents and purposes, the evolutionary implications of wireless technology have just begun.
Wireless technology encompasses many different aspects. For the time being, wireless really can be segmented into three categories: mobile, fixed, and the newest kid on the block, wireless area networks.
Mobile wireless represents the aspect with which consumers are most familiar-the cellular phone experience that allows people to connect virtually anywhere that has coverage. Fixed wireless, with which average consumers are less familiar, provides for wirelinc replacements for voice, data and video circuits to fixed locations, including homes and businesses. Traditional fixed wireless docs not provide the mobility of mobile wireless.
And then there's the latest wireless technology-wireless area networks, which includes technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. These newer technologies aim to replace the many data-carrying wires located within homes and businesses. These three categories represent most of the wireless aspects confronted by everyday consumers.
But get ready for the lines to blur-just as traditional wireline technology is evolving, so too is wireless. Both sectors are facing convergence. And there is a single culprit forcing convergence for both-Internet protocol (IP). On the wireless side, this convergence is being labeled 4G, or fourth generation wireless-an all IP converged network, with very little, if any, distinction between mobile, fixed or wireless area networks.
The "Wi" Craze
To begin, let's look at some of the developments in wireless, starting with the "Wi" craze (i.e. Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.).
For such a young technology, Wi-Fi, or 802.11, is an interesting phenomenon. Wi-Fi is characterized as a wireless local area network (WLAN), providing broadband Internet and other traditional networking tools associated with wired Ethernet local area networks.
Wi-Fi has spawned the whole "hot spot" and "hot zone" craze now so common in coffee shops, hotels and airports. Because of its limited range (usually around 300 feet), and the low prevalence of hot spots, rural America, for the most part, has not witnessed the Wi-Fi craze. There are many rural carriers that have taken advantage of a range of enhancement tools to...