<s>
Wireless	B-General_Concept
broadband	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
telecommunications	O
technology	O
that	O
provides	O
high-speed	O
wireless	O
Internet	O
access	O
or	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
access	O
over	O
a	O
wide	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
encompasses	O
both	O
fixed	B-General_Concept
and	O
mobile	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
"	O
had	O
a	O
technical	O
meaning	O
,	O
but	O
became	O
a	O
marketing	O
term	O
for	O
any	O
kind	O
of	O
relatively	O
high-speed	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
or	O
Internet	O
access	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
802.16-2004	O
standard	O
,	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
means	O
"	O
having	O
instantaneous	O
bandwidths	B-Algorithm
greater	O
than	O
1	O
MHz	O
and	O
supporting	O
data	O
rates	O
greater	O
than	O
about	O
1.5	O
Mbit/s.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
broadband	I-General_Concept
network	O
is	O
an	O
outdoor	O
fixed	B-General_Concept
and/or	O
mobile	O
wireless	O
network	O
providing	O
point-to-multipoint	B-General_Concept
or	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
terrestrial	O
wireless	O
links	O
for	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
fixed	B-General_Concept
wireless	I-General_Concept
networks	O
are	O
exclusively	O
half-duplex	O
(	O
HDX	O
)	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
some	O
licensed	O
and	O
unlicensed	O
systems	O
can	O
also	O
operate	O
at	O
full-duplex	O
(	O
FDX	O
)	O
allowing	O
communication	O
in	O
both	O
directions	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Outdoor	O
fixed	B-General_Concept
wireless	I-General_Concept
broadband	B-General_Concept
networks	O
commonly	O
utilize	O
a	O
priority	O
TDMA	O
based	O
protocol	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
divide	O
communication	O
into	O
timeslots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
timeslot	O
technique	O
eliminates	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
issues	O
common	O
to	O
802.11	O
Wi-Fi	O
protocol	O
in	O
outdoor	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
hidden	B-General_Concept
node	I-General_Concept
problem	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Few	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
Internet	I-General_Concept
service	I-General_Concept
providers	I-General_Concept
(	O
WISPs	O
)	O
provide	O
download	O
speeds	O
of	O
over	O
100	O
Mbit/s	O
;	O
most	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
wireless	I-General_Concept
access	I-General_Concept
(	O
BWA	O
)	O
services	O
are	O
estimated	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
from	O
a	O
tower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technologies	O
used	O
include	O
Local	O
Multipoint	O
Distribution	O
Service	O
(	O
LMDS	O
)	O
and	O
Multichannel	O
Multipoint	O
Distribution	O
Service	O
(	O
MMDS	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
heavy	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
industrial	O
,	O
scientific	O
and	O
medical	O
(	O
ISM	O
)	O
radio	B-Algorithm
bands	I-Algorithm
and	O
one	O
particular	O
access	O
technology	O
was	O
standardized	O
by	O
IEEE	O
802.16	O
,	O
with	O
products	O
known	O
as	O
WiMAX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
the	O
Federal	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
adopted	O
a	O
Report	O
and	O
Order	O
that	O
revised	O
the	O
FCC	O
's	O
rules	O
to	O
open	O
the	O
3650MHz	O
band	O
for	O
terrestrial	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
broadband	I-General_Concept
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
system	O
that	O
is	O
popular	O
with	O
cable	B-Device
internet	I-Device
service	O
providers	O
uses	O
point-to-multipoint	B-General_Concept
wireless	O
links	O
that	O
extend	O
the	O
existing	O
wired	O
network	O
using	O
a	O
transparent	O
radio	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wireless	B-General_Concept
Internet	I-General_Concept
Service	I-General_Concept
Providers	I-General_Concept
Association	O
,	O
a	O
national	O
association	O
of	O
WISPs	O
,	O
petitioned	O
the	O
FCC	O
and	O
won	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
WISPs	O
were	O
only	O
found	O
in	O
rural	O
areas	O
not	O
covered	O
by	O
cable	B-Device
or	O
DSL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
early	O
WISPs	O
would	O
employ	O
a	O
high-capacity	O
T-carrier	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
T1	B-Protocol
or	O
DS3	O
connection	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
broadcast	O
the	O
signal	O
from	O
a	O
high	O
elevation	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
a	O
water	O
tower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Providers	O
of	O
fixed	B-General_Concept
wireless	I-General_Concept
broadband	B-General_Concept
services	O
typically	O
provide	O
equipment	O
to	O
customers	O
and	O
install	O
a	O
small	O
antenna	O
or	O
dish	O
somewhere	O
on	O
the	O
roof	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fixed	B-General_Concept
wireless	I-General_Concept
services	O
have	O
become	O
particularly	O
popular	O
in	O
many	O
rural	O
areas	O
where	O
cable	B-Device
,	O
DSL	O
or	O
other	O
typical	O
home	O
internet	O
services	O
are	O
not	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
providers	O
tend	O
to	O
offer	O
competitive	O
services	O
and	O
options	O
in	O
areas	O
where	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
difficulty	O
getting	O
affordable	O
Ethernet	O
connections	O
from	O
terrestrial	O
providers	O
such	O
as	O
ATT	O
,	O
Comcast	O
,	O
Verizon	B-Application
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
cope	O
with	O
increased	O
demand	O
for	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
broadband	I-General_Concept
,	O
increased	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
would	O
be	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Studies	O
began	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
and	O
while	O
some	O
unused	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
was	O
available	O
,	O
it	O
appeared	O
broadcasters	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
give	O
up	O
at	O
least	O
some	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Called	O
mobile	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
,	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
broadband	I-General_Concept
technologies	O
include	O
services	O
from	O
mobile	O
phone	O
service	O
providers	O
such	O
as	O
Verizon	B-Application
Wireless	I-Application
,	O
Sprint	O
Corporation	O
,	O
and	O
AT&T	O
Mobility	O
,	O
and	O
T-Mobile	O
which	O
allow	O
a	O
more	O
mobile	O
version	O
of	O
Internet	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consumers	O
can	O
purchase	O
a	O
PC	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
,	O
laptop	B-Device
card	O
,	O
USB	B-Protocol
equipment	O
,	O
or	O
mobile	B-Device
broadband	I-Device
modem	I-Device
,	O
to	O
connect	O
their	O
PC	B-Device
or	O
laptop	B-Device
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
via	O
cell	O
phone	O
towers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
only	O
iPhone	B-Device
service	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
AT&T	O
experienced	O
the	O
problem	O
of	O
heavy	O
Internet	O
use	O
more	O
than	O
other	O
providers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
About	O
3	O
percent	O
of	O
AT&T	O
smart	B-Application
phone	I-Application
customers	O
account	O
for	O
40	O
percent	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
's	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
plan	O
would	O
become	O
a	O
requirement	O
for	O
those	O
upgrading	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
iPhone	B-Device
technology	O
later	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
licensed	O
connections	O
use	O
a	O
private	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
the	O
user	O
has	O
secured	O
rights	O
to	O
from	O
the	O
Federal	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
(	O
FCC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
other	O
countries	O
,	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
is	O
licensed	O
from	O
the	O
country	O
's	O
national	O
radio	O
communications	O
authority	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ACMA	O
in	O
Australia	O
or	O
Nigerian	O
Communications	O
Commission	O
in	O
Nigeria	O
(	O
NCC	O
)	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Licensing	O
is	O
usually	O
expensive	O
and	O
often	O
reserved	O
for	O
large	O
companies	O
who	O
wish	O
to	O
guarantee	O
private	O
access	O
to	O
spectrum	B-Algorithm
for	O
use	O
in	O
point	B-Architecture
to	I-Architecture
point	I-Architecture
communication	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
most	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
ISP	I-General_Concept
's	O
use	O
unlicensed	B-Algorithm
spectrum	I-Algorithm
which	O
is	O
publicly	O
shared	O
.	O
</s>
