Wireless LANs to take on broadband access

Nokia believes that wireless LAN technology could be the answer to the wireless operators' need to offer high-speed data connections, at least in some specific places.

The concept is new - so new that even the Wireless LAN Alliance hasn't heard much about it. Nokia believes, however, that wireless operators and possibly Internet service providers could find a differentiator in bundling wireless LAN services into their offerings.

The vision combines the benefits of today's wireless networks and shorter range wireless LAN capabilities.

"In the traditional wireless world now, they have very good wide area coverage," said Dan MacDonald, vice president of wireless business communications for Nokia. "But the speeds are very modest." Those speeds are appropriate for some applications. "But for the laptop user, those speeds are not acceptable."

MacDonald envisions public places such as airports, convention centers and hotels being wireless LAN-enabled. Today's mobile network operators could offer customers access from both networks. "We see them doing both - having wide area coverage but also moving into hot spot areas as well," he said.

Manufacturers might even be able to bundle radios that operate on both networks into single devices. "It's natural that in the future we would see a product that would be able to switch from the hot spot zone to a wide area zone," he said. Offering connection via wireless LAN costs less than using the macro network and saves capacity on that network.

Existing operators are in a good position to offer broadband access via wireless LANs. "If you have a brand name established in wireless connectivity, it's a natural extension," MacDonald said.

The idea of installing wireless LANs in public places such as airports may be gaining steam because of the recent agreement on a standard.

"Public access is more possible now," said Mack Sullivan, managing director of the Wireless LAN Alliance. "People who buy wireless LAN adapters have the opportunity to ubiquitously access other LAN infrastructure."

Having a standard may make wireless LANs proliferate so that more users have wireless LAN equipment. Then, Sullivan envisions airport services where customers could merely sit near a kiosk of a wireless LAN service provider and access the LAN using their own PC cards. Users would sign in via the Internet, and the kiosk operator could require them to enter a credit card for payment.

Independent companies are already foraying into the public market. LaptopLane has Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate wireless LANs in 16 airports and has already launched in seven, MacDonald said. Zoolink is an ISP that differentiates itself by offering wireless LAN connections in hotels, he said.

ISPs could also offer to set up wireless LANs for their business customers throughout their office spaces. Small and medium-sized businesses especially have struggled with their information technology infrastructure and have begun relying more on ISPs for added services. "ISPs are reaching further into corporate accounts," MacDonald said. It would be natural then for an ISP to wirelessly extend a company's LAN access into spaces like conference rooms.