Satellite breakthrough May 11, 2006
By: Al Senia America's Network http://www.americasnetwork.com/americasnetwork/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=325904 In a sign that the broadband wars in the United States are really heating up, AT&T this week expanded its market reach with fiber and satellite technologies. In a speech at the Detroit Economics Club, ATT&T chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said beginning this month the company will begin using satellite and fixed-wireless technologies to provide high-speed broadband in rural communities that can't presently access it over traditional telephone lines. The satellite service, in partnership with service provider WildBlue, is being offered to rural customers in AT&T's 13-state local service area.where DSL isn't available. (During the last year, AT&T has emerged as one of the nation's largest DSL providers with more than 1 million customers, thanks to aggressive marketing and attractive pricing.) The satellite broadband service will be priced at between $50-$80 monthly (depending on delivery speed), more than most DSL or cable services. And it will be slower than many competing services, with speeds ranging from 1.5Mbps downstream and 256 Kbps upstream. But it will be operating in areas where competing high-speed services simply don't exist. Even so, the new satellite service could do a lot to validate satellite broadband as a delivery technology. Currently, Clearwire is the best known provider of wireless broadband, utilizing radio towers for a WiMAX-type service in 27 metro areas and 200 cities in 12 states, as well as Mexico, Ireland, Belgium and Denmark. AT&T is also making its move at a point where regulators in California and Texas (AT&T's primary consumer service areas) just loosened the regulations governing broadband over power line delivery by utility companies, who could suddenly emerge as broadband competitors in rural areas. Whitacre's latest move with satellite shows the company isn't afraid to take a risk with unproven technology, especially if it means grabbing a competitive edge. In fact, Whitacre also spoke about the promising future of two other developing technologies. He said the company's Project Lightspeed fiber-to-the-node initiative will be made available within three years to more than 5.5 million low-income households as part of its initial build in 41 target market.. He also announced that AT&T would expand the scope of its WiMAX and other fixed-wireless marketing efforts, with new deployments slated by year's end in Texas and Nevada. "With our resources, scope and expertise, AT&T today is well-positioned to deliver the benefits of new innovations to customers of all sizes," Whitacre said. Now, the only question is, are the customers ready to buy in to that vision? ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list medianews@twiar.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
