BellSouth launches second BBW trial

BellSouth has expanded its broadband wireless testing to Palatka, Fla., in an effort to test the technology’s feasibility in rural areas.

The town is located about 50 miles northwest of Daytona where the RBOC’s original trial of Navini’s fixed wireless technology over the WCS bands is still ongoing. While the Daytona experiment is helping BellSouth determine the technology’s use in dense urban areas, the Palatka trial could give BellSouth an indication of whether it could put its spare spectrum to use in suburban and rural areas it can’t reach with DSL.

"This could be the poster child for the rural divide," said Mel Levine, director of wireless broadband for BellSouth. "We’ve put our basestation in Palatka within 100 feet of the edge of our DSL coverage, allowing us to reach all of the people we can’t bring DSL to."

In fact, the Palatka trial may soon outshadow the Daytona trial as BellSouth’s broadband deployment strategy matures. With new fiber-to-the-home technology on the horizon and the recent uptake in DSL deployments throughout BellSouth’s territory, broadband wireless may become a more viable technology in rural areas than urban, Levine said.

"As we continue to expand our DSL footprint in urban areas, the emphasis on this technology shifts to rural areas," Levine said. "We can place this technology literally where DSL leaves off."

BellSouth has deployed its basestation and is in the process of installing customer premise equipment with its trial customers. The trial is scheduled to last six months.