To understand the scope of the challenge, it helps to look at the peculiar confluence of factors affecting today's service providers and subscribers alike. These limitations are most felt in the last mile, or at the access part of the network that links the customer premise to a carrier's point of presence. As for cable modems, keep in mind that coaxial cable is not deployed in many countries, which eliminates the cable modem as an alternative for many business users worldwide. In addition, multiple voice lines are necessary to serve the lucrative market of small and mid-sized businesses, and DSL and cable do not support multiple voice lines at this time. Voice is usually considered to have high margin and revenue potential.
Broadband wireless can support multiple voice and data lines.
The Advantages of Wireless Access Many service providers today are turning to broadband wireless access as a means of offering high-speed connectivity. There are several reasons for this trend. With wireless technology, it is possible to offer service relatively quickly to a large number of subscribers. Regulators have recently begun to open up bands of wireless radio frequencies that have the potential to support both high-speed data and traditional voice services. In order to enable greater local competition and accelerate the deployment of high-speed networks, the FCC and similar regulators abroad have recently opened up various bands of wireless frequencies at 10 GHz and above.