Cisco Systems Inc has announced plans to market multichannel multipoint distribution services (MMDS) for wireless local loop connectivity. The technology is cheaper than laying fiber optic cable and hence attractive to consumers, to small businesses and to the service providers that sell them their network access. In September 1998, Cisco shelled out $157m for Clarity Wireless Corp. Apparently, Clarity’s engineers have been working hard ever since to develop special techniques to eliminate the need for line-of-sight between wireless transmitters and receivers.
Now Cisco estimates that it can build wireless base stations for $150,000 and sell the transceivers for as little as $500. Each base station should be able to support 3000 simultaneous users. By teaming with Motorola, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and KPMG, Cisco believes it could have the wireless local loop technology available to carriers by June 2000. The company certainly needs to speed its wireless strategy to market: once there, it will be knocking heads with such powerhouses as Nortel Networks, Lucent Technologies, Nokia and Ericsson.
