"Resisting municipal broadband is futile, as deployments set to double in 2006," says visiongain report30 January 2006
Despite legal opposition and intense lobbying from incumbent telcos and cable companies, municipal broadband is coming and is here to stay. As of Q1 2006, there are over 100 city and regional wireless broadband networks operational worldwide, more than 40 of which are in the US.
Small town rural deployments were the beginning of the wave, but the tide is now embracing large urban metropolises. New York, San Francisco, Rome and Paris are among the major cities planning wide-scale deployments. While these networks present yet another new competitive threat to the broadband market landscape, there are opportunities to be grasped for service providers, whether fixed-line or wireless, if these companies play their cards right. Major vendors, such as Motorola, Cisco, HP and IBM are already reaping cumulative contract awards running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Generally speaking, we believe resistance towards Muni networks is futile," says lead author Pam Duffey. "Finer points of the debate aside, it is fast becoming a city or state government duty to provide at least the means for widespread broadband service to the citizenry. By 2010/2011, we believe the majority of cities and townships in the US will have a municipal wireless network in place and the focus then will be in uniting them into a seamless, if not centralised, national network."
"New and emerging applications such as digital libraries, virtual laboratories, distance-independent learning and tele-immersion will require broadband speeds and reverse the digital divide. In addition, applications such as LBS and gaming over city-wide networks could seriously threaten existing carrier business models," adds Duffey.
For a large number of reasons, municipalities are considering the concept of a Municipal Broadband Network as the "fifth utility." These communities are choosing between deploying fibre and a wireless broadband network using Wi-Fi hotspots, mesh networks or pre-WiMAX technology. There will be a significant build-out, blending technologies and building on existing service, both wired and unwired.
However, many technological and business factors need to be considered, any one of which can better or worsen the outcome for any given municipality. Often, cities lack sufficient experience and knowledge of technologies to make the best choices and compound the problem further by inadequately funding the effort or by employing a business model that can not sustain the endeavor.
This report examines the various technology options open to communities in deploying broadband networks, as well as the business models, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It looks at case studies of successful and failed initiatives, identifying and outlining the reasons behind them. The impact that these networks have had and will have on local markets and incumbent operators are also analysed.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
If you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, please send an e-mail to sara.peerun@visiongain.com or phone Sara on 020 8767 6711 or visit http://www.visiongainintelligence.com/reportDetail.aspx?reportId=1271&tab=1
About visiongain
Visiongain is one of the fastest growing and most innovative independent media companies in Europe. Based in London, UK, visiongain produces a host of business-2-business conferences, newsletters, management reports and e-zines focusing on the Telecoms, Pharmaceutical and Defence sectors.
Visiongain publishes reports produced by its in-house analysts, who are qualified experts in their field. Visiongain has firmly established itself as the first port-of-call for the business professional, who needs independent, high quality, original material to rely and depend on.
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