We're actually clearer. And once you get the video hookup, you also get 40 channels of DJ-free music all day and night. The microwave-based signal transmits information through the air to subscribers' homes at an incredible 10 Mbps, or 10 million bits per second. A 30-minute wait to download the newest version of Netscape, for instance, would be cut to seconds. Unlike Ms. Lamarr's unique, two-way radio wave concept, The Beam is currently limited to one direction.
Subscribers get the advantage of the signal's speed only when pulling down Net pages and files.
They still must have a modem hooked up to a telephone line to send their data requests from keyboard to network. And if a home already is hooked into an ISDN line, the resulting package approaches perfection. Mr. Mindemann said CS Wireless, an operator of wireless cable systems in 11 major metropolitan areas, has been marketing its Dallas-Fort Worth products on a limited basis since summer 1997. Only one local ISP is hooked up so far, but officials of The Beam service say they have yet to begin any real marketing push. I guess the speed is what hooked us.