There is technological substance behind the outlook for wireless Internet. Cisco Systems, the provider of Internet network routers and connectors, is working with Broadcom Corp., the Irvine, Calif.-based maker of semiconductors for Internet access. As envisioned, the Cisco wireless system would deliver Internet to fixed locations but not yet to mobile phones. Big players take it seriously Major media companies are taking the prospects for wireless Internet seriously. Cost is a big factor behind the enthusiasm.
Timing is another factor.
At the very least, success of wireless will give Bertelsmann and other media companies a choice of alternatives for distributing their content. MCI Worldcom, the giant supplier of wireless telephony , would be a major beneficiary. Don't have to be fast to win The implications are immense internationally, Nicholas points out, because cable and even wired telephone systems are less extensively developed than in the United States. Yet the race is not merely to the swift. Other phone companies have similar timetables.