True believers argue that broadband wireless has a decisive cost advantage.
This is especially true for systems in the millimeter wave frequencies. With short ranges and high data rates, these systems have significant backhaul and switching infrastructure requirements. Innovation is required to develop MAC and modulation methods appropriate for broadband service, and integration with adjacent technologies is crucial. This plays to the strengths of big players such as Nortel and Lucent, who can develop a total system, and poses a challenge for focused start-ups who must develop partnerships to achieve similar integration. Not only are these partnerships not easy to come by, but because of the high degree of customization that may be necessary, a small player risks ending up a quasi-captive supplier to one of the big vendors.