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Technology Stocks : CellularVision (CVUS): 2-way LMDS wireless cable. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian Coakley who wrote (1460)	3/10/1998 12:03:00 PM
From: James Fink	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2063

The following article is from the MSNBC website. I think it interesting that the author believes LMDS will not be significant until the end of 1999. I also like the comparison between LMDS and MMDS, with a decidedly more positive view of LMDS: The following services aren't likely to impact consumers by the end of 1999. Still, there's a flurry of recent news on each: LMDS: Local Multipoint Distribution Services. Uses microwave radio links to transmit data to small antennas mounted outside buildings. LMDS radio links work over a distance of only about three miles and must have a clear line of sight - no buildings or dense foliage obstructing the view. The Strategis Group estimates that no more than half of the United States will ever get LMDS service, and analysts say only about half the country will ever be "wired" for LMDS) Still, LMDS promises 8 Mbs speeds (Lucent says it has developed LMDS that tops out at 45 Mbs), the antennas can be as small as 9 inches in diameter, and the technology has attracted over 100 bidders to the current FCC auction for a portion of the radio spectrum set aside for LMDS. There is one LMDS service in operation today: CellularVision USA Inc. offers a 500 Kbps data service in New York City, priced at $49.95 a month for residential customers. MMDS: Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service. The older relative of LMDS, its lower-frequency signals deliver one-way bandwidths of up to 10 Mbps. But it requires a clear line of sight, and the signals often collide with wireless phone transmissions in a similar range. Interest in it has waned in favor of LMDS. Bell Atlantic and Nynex formally canceled their relationship with CAI Wireless, the biggest MMDS proponent, in February, after CAI's stock lost its Nasdaq listing in January. LOW-EARTH ORBIT (LEO) SATELLITES: While geostationary satellites are too far away in space to offer two-way connections, Teledesic plans to launch a fleet of low-orbit satellites that could allow two-way Net access. The company, funded by heavyweights like Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, plans to spend $20 billion and have the birds in place by 2002. The first satellite was launched Feb. 25 (link to ZD story). Two other companies, Orbcomm and Iridium, also plan low-earth-orbit satellite networks RADIO AND TV WAVES: The most old-fashioned newfangled way to communicate. It's possible to use radio and TV waves to broadcast Internet content. A company named Ricochet utilizes a license-free part of radio spectrum in the 900 Mhz band to deliver Net access at standard modem speeds to laptop computers in Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Modems cost $300-$500; monthly fees are about $30. The Ricochet network consists of shoe-box-sized radio transceivers, also called Microcell Radios, which are typically mounted on streetlights or utility poles. They are strategically placed every quarter to half mile in a checkerboard pattern. It's a good solution for mobile Internet access. Enhanced service offering 128 Kbps is promised by 1999. Of course, there's nothing foolproof about it. Warp Drive Networks was utilizing television frequencies to provide download speeds ranging from 128 Kbps to 1.54 Mbps for $99 a month. An ISP was required for uploads. But the service went belly-up Feb. 1 when investors pulled out.