Broadband wireless access: its features, the players involved in its deployment and its growth potential in 17 Western European countries.
• Local loop technologies: LMDS and competing platforms.
• LMDS's international development and regulatory framework:- focus on licence allocation;- the current situation in the US;- other geographical zones.
• LMDS operators:- profile;- deployment and partnership strategies;- market positioning.
• Manufacturers:- analysis of manufacturers' and start-ups' offering;- market positioning and relationships with operators.
• 2000 – 2005: services and equipment market (residential,SME and SoHo) prospects.LMDS, new competition in the local loopLMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service), which is currently in its development phase in Europe, delivers speeds of 2 to 10 Mbit/s per subscriber (likely to reach 45 Mbit/s within the next two years).
In comparison to other access platforms, LMDS offers a number of advantages (quick installation, available capacity, etc.) and provides the means for introducing real competition into the local loop.A process underway throughout Europe.
Finland, Ireland and Germany were the first European countries to award LMDS licences in 1999.
Since then, most of the other countries have also followed suit and licences should be allocated all over Europe by the end of 2000.
In certain Member States (Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), opted for the auction mode of allocation.
New opportunities for new operators and candidat.
The vast majority of LMDS operators are new entrants since incumbent operators are generally excluded from this market.
In the context of the licence-allocation process, only Tele2 and Star One are of European origin, alongside a handful of already very active American players, who appeared on the European scene during the first round of licence allocations (ART, Broadnet, FirstMark, Formus, Teligent, UPC and Winstar).A new market for equipment manufacturers.
LMDS has undeniably caught the attention of the telecommunications giants (Alcatel, Nortel, Lucent, HNS, Ericsson, Siemens, SpectraPoint, etc.), as well as attracting start-ups and radio specialists (Netro, P-Com, Breezecom, Floware, Ensemble, etc.), acting alone or via OEM agreements.
LMDS market presence in Europe by the year 2005.
LMDS targets the SME-orientated Internet access market (as a substitute for leased lines) and SOHOs (Small Office Home Office), on account of its high-speeds.
As for the residential segment, uncertainty remains over the WLL’s capacity to conquer the mass market.