| Neutral Host In-Building DAS |
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| The cure for the wirelessly stranded enterprise | |||
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March 29, 2009Submitted by ADC Canada Healthy competition is the foundation of a progressive, innovative and dynamic industry. The Canadian wireless services sector stands out as a fine example of what low levels of competition can do to an industry. A real competitive environment in the Canadian wireless industry has often been promised but rarely achieved—something like the fake palm trees seen in some Toronto neighbourhoods in the middle of a winter storm. The latest wireless spectrum auction in the AWS bands by Industry Canada may be easily dismissed with a roll of the eyes and the cry of “More of the same!”. However, things are fundamentally different this time around. A new approach in the latest auction may have done the trick. 40 MHz (out of 105 MHz) were specifically set aside for new entrants. This has attracted the much-needed competitive attention both from incumbents and, more importantly, from potential new competitors—including those based overseas. Bid prices have run two to six times higher than the U.S. auction garnered. It may be argued that Canada simply doesn’t have room for more service providers, but the reality is different. There has been a lack of healthy competition in the Canadian wireless services business scene over the recent past. This manifests itself mainly in the form of poor market penetration rates in Canada, which are among the lowest in the G8 nations (compare 58% versus 77% in the U.S. [The Economist’s Pocket World in Figures, 2007 Ed.]). This represents an untapped market potential that is now poised to blossom with the stimulus of lower prices and better services from the upcoming changes in the competitive health of the industry. Hi-tech mobile services have almost become a necessary tool of business in the corporate environment of developed nations. Canada cannot afford to lag behind its G8 peers any longer, and the latest infusion of fresh competition from the AWS auction is overdue and welcome. More importantly, the Canadian enterprise needs to stop operating in a sub-prime wireless environment and compromise its competitive edge on the global economic stage. The in-building coverage problem While it is great to know that things are getting better from a competitive perspective, there is another important and often forgotten aspect of this picture that needs even more attention in Canada now. This issue threatens to keep a significant number of end user businesses from reaping the benefits of increased competition and newer services in the wireless services sector. Enterprises that occupy office building spaces continue to face the so called “in-building coverage problem”. This problem is not really new and relates to the degradation of providers’ radio signals inside building spaces, limiting the availability of wireless service. This problem has seen further aggravation due to increased use of high-speed wireless data products, like the Blackberry, but it’s going to get even worse with newer, high-tech mobile services that are quickly evolving. However, with the right knowledge, the in-building wireless problem can not only be solved, but turned into an advantage. |
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