By Mark Rockwell
May 19, 2004
news@2 direct

WASHINGTON -- Wireless could be the "Holy Grail" for U.S. broadband policy, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said today at an agency-hosted gathering of the wireless broadband industry.

Wireless broadband, Powell told attendees at the FCC's day-long Wireless Broadband Forum, could be the third "wire" into homes next to cable and wireline telephone. The "third wire" is the fuse that ultimately will spark real competition for consumers, he said. The FCC is working aggressively toward implementing new spectrum policy and fostering new technology that will drive broadband access home to consumers, he added.

"Wireless is vital. We can't rest on any single platform," he said, noting that cable companies and local phone companies haven't really taken up wireless as a broadband alternative. The primary drive behind wireless broadband, he said, is coming from entrepreneurs.

The packed meeting room at the commission backed Powell's thought. Hundreds of smaller wireless broadband providers, as well as representatives from huge corporations looking to invest in the technology, made up the majority of the audience.

Owners of small- and medium-sized wireless broadband companies were numerous. Some, such as Neil Mulholland, chief executive of Parieinet, say they're not only serving rural and smaller communities but are seeing a jump in business from small- and medium-sized businesses in metropolitan areas. Mulholland says his company has dozens of business customers in the Des Moines, Iowa, metro area, for instance.

He's not alone. Douglas Campbell, vice president of business development for AMA Techtel, a wireless broadband provider serving areas of rural Texas, said he sees the same. People are tired of dealing with only the local cable or phone company for a broadband line, he said.

That was a familiar theme at the conference, with many panel participants noting that this year wireless broadband seems to carry a special vibrancy. "We're excited by wireless broadband," said Pierre Vries, chief technology officer at Microsoft. Vries said his company is looking not to become a service or equipment provider but is intensely interested in constructing and marketing software platforms for those applications. It's a a golden time for wireless broadband's business development, he said. "The technology keeps moving forward," companies keep investing in the technology and the FCC is moving aggressively to change policy to accommodate it, he said.

For additional information contact:
Neil J. Mulholland, Prairie iNet, 515/440-0848, ext. 106