Any new technology, cable and DSL included, must at some time deal with the cultural lag created with the perpetual introduction of new forms of technology. Ogburn posited that as new forms of increasingly sophisticated technology are introduced within a culture, parts of that culture will react in strikingly different ways, and at different speeds. Simply stated, as individuals actually see how a particular technology functions, they will evaluate its applicability to their own needs and make a decision as to whether or not to adopt the new technology. One doesn't have to remember too far back to recall a time when cable modems and DSL were foreign technology to the American consumer. And although in many ways cable and DSL are still fighting hard to overcome the natural tendency of consumers to resist new technologies, slowly and surely the market for their services has grown and will continue to grow as subscribers become more demanding of dial-up services and come to realize the advantages of adopting new technologies.
MMDS technology is too expensive for mass deployment.
This concern is misguided at best. And once service is rolled out, it is estimated that customers should be able to receive service in a week to ten days. In fact, MMDS's unique ability for mass deployment renders the technology even more cost effective than other alternatives. It is precisely because MMDS service does not require as many transmitting towers as LMDS, serving thousands of subscribers from a single transmitter, that Sprint and WorldCom have chosen MMDS as the alternative broadband Internet technology of the future. In many cases, transmitter construction will actually be unnecessary, which will further reduce initial deployment costs.