Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Global Crossing - GX (formerly GBLX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Marty R who wrote (3034)	11/1/1999 7:01:00 PM
From: barry fowler	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15615

Re: Capacity >> How does current and pending wireless technology compare to fiber with respect to transmission capacity? It doesn't take much fiber at all to get "a lot" more capacity than wireless. However, today, wireless is offering "a lot" of capacity -- I'll be getting 1.5 Mbps via a wirelss ISP in the next couple months. It'll cost $300 to install the antenna and $80 / month service. However, the ISP's antenna has to be within a few miles of my house -- not sure what the distance requirement is. So, with a wireless solution, I'm still not "wireless all the way across town" let along across the US. That'd be really expensive. Fiber inherently has "a lot" more capacity, and the distances are virtually unlimited, but it's expensive to string it around everywhere we'd like to have it. So ... companies like GBLX are stringing it around to create a "backbone". Then, chaps like you and I can use wireless to tap into it. So, wireless isn't going to dry up due to all the fiber being install -- they complement each other. On the other hand, with the old copper (POTS) lines ... their days are numbered (except maybe 3rd world places).

To: Marty R who wrote (3034)	11/8/1999 7:58:00 PM
From: petersterling	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15615

I have been out of town for a few days. Yes Current wireless infrastructure uses 50MHz of spectrum slices making it hard to deliver broadband even using CDMA which gives them around 10 times the effective bandwidth of analog. Terrestrial cellular operators will all have to replace their headends and terminals to get into the broadband game. Expect this to kick in in a big way by 2003. They are still making plenty off basic phone calls and are in no rush to make life harder for themselves and their hardware suppliers are also share the same mentality. S2COM has 3,000 MHz of global spectrum so its not an issue, especially when you factor in the use of CDMA and DSSS. Our $1.2 billion space ISP system alone will be able to serve 10 million new customers each year and probably more as time goes by. To do the same thing with a cellular system would cost tens of billions of dollars. Fiber can't compete directly as soon as you begin to move or are away from downtown cores. Incidentally "Orange" the UK cellular operator with 6 million customers and minimal geographical expansion possibility was sold for $33 billion recently. While the market has still not really looked skywards to see the enormous space ISP opportunity yet, I expect the herd to find the pot of gold eventually though. Wireless data will tend to flip up and down into fiber so fiber is needed and it will likely always be able to carry more bulk bandwidth from one point to another for any given dollar in capex, but it doesn't reach into your car, boat, plane or pocket, which is where we all want it. It all gets down to Dollars! If you compare the CAPITAL COSTS to reach broadband into each home or office; if you add mobility and or remote area, wireless always wins and satellite demolishes every competing alternative. Increasingly both phones and internet access devices will become wireless. Wireless phones are experiencing 100% p.a growth rates while wireline is only single digit growth today. If it wasn't for Covad we would not be seeing growth in wireline DSL offerings from the incumbents. "Only satellites can make the dream of anytime, anywhere Internet access reality," said Sam Farrar, satellite industry veteran and principal author of the report. "There are hundreds of millions of cars, trucks, freight containers, point of sale terminals, and sensors waiting to be connected to the World Wide Web. spacedaily.com Best Regards Peter Sterling s2com.net