Broadband Fits & Starts

Sprint Broadband Direct, Sprint's wireless-Internet initiative, launched on May 8 in Phoenix and provided the company an opportunity to plug its hoped-for merger with WorldCom.

"What we're doing has a key role to play in the merger," said Tim Sutton, Sprint Broadband Wireless Group president, speaking of the synergy between the two companies' MMDS (2.1MHz and 2.5MHz to 2.7MHz) licenses. Combined, the licenses would cover two-thirds of the United States, the largest broadband footprint in the world under a single operator, he said.

Shareholders in both companies approved the merger in April. Agencies including the Department of Justice, FCC and European Union are expected to act on the merger no later than 3Q00.

Sutton said the service's speed and always-on aspect will transform how the Internet is used. By mid-2001 the package will include voice and data services. Sutton believes Broadband Direct eventually will be considered a Lifeline service. Both Sprint and WorldCom have stressed that they will serve small cities and rural areas along with larger cities. Earlier this spring, WorldCom announced its own MMDS trials.

A single MMDS tower has a radius of up to 35 miles in certain markets and will deliver up to 10Mb/s. Unlike DSL, MMDS isn't distance-sensitive; its signals generally are unaffected by weather. Bandwidth can be increased through sectorization or cellularization. Although line-of-sight is required, Sutton said smart antennas and modulation schemes on the horizon could change this. Customer-premises equipment includes a broadband modem that converts the RF signal to an Ethernet transport layer carrying IP packets.

With up to 5Mb/s burst rates and between 1Mb/s and 2 Mb/s downstream, Broadband Direct is being offered to individuals at $39.95 a month with a $299 equipment charge. This is discounted to $199 or $99 if the customer signs up for one or two years of service. A business product supporting up to six IP addresses is $89.95 a month.