Wireless Broadband: Here Today for Tomorrow

It's been some week, huh?  There's an awful lot to process on the financial front... the Dow down 777 points yesterday  (I'll be working until I'm 70), then up more than 300 so far today (okay, maybe 68). It’s  assuredly an uncertain time, and in some respects, more than just a little scary.  

After we take a collective breath, and look around, we’ll see that while there are real reasons for concern and real problems to be solved -- but it’s not all “doom and gloom.”  For example,  consumer  confidence actually rose August to September.  And while we might not have a “bailout” plan in place just yet, I believe one will ultimately be passed. 

But instead of reading this for my quick take on the economy, I'd like you to think about how wireless fits in this picture. I have no doubt that the  wireless telecommunications sector will be a leader in our economic recovery.  According to Ovum, wireless productivity gains will generate more than $860 billion over the next 10 years , generating millions of new jobs and creating impressive advances for American business. New, high-speed 4th generation technology, such as Sprint’s WiMAX service  which is becoming commercially available within the next week,  is going to enable applications and services that at once seemed “Jetson-esque” .  AT&T and Verizon have also committed to the LTE – a 4G wireless standard – and expect to make it available in the next 24 months. 

The continued deployment of these 4th generation technologies, and the sustained growth in wireless broadband subscribership (about 70% of new broadband lines between June 2006 and June 2007 were wireless subscriptions), will enable increased productivity and efficiency in the enterprise community and truly life-style changing developments for the public.  Business users and consumers alike require a wireless high-speed internet experience akin to that they find on their desktops.  The industry is working hard to meet that demand , and the promise of the wireless future is fantastic. 

Right now, it’s easy  (and understandable) to look around and be  a little scared – but before we get too worked up, let’s take a dispassionate, measured look at  the big picture. Yes, times are tough. Our 401K accounts and overall confidence are taking hits. But wireless is a positively life-changing technology that is a critical key to the solution, and that should factor into every policymakers' mindset when looking at rules and regs that pertain to this dynamic facet of America's economic rebound.