TABLE OF CONTENTS What can we do with all these different standards and technologies? Why is it so important to have so many different choices? Why should I care? What are the applications that will demand the bandwidth that we have been discussing throughout this book?
All of the questions that continue to arise regarding broadband wireless communications are very valid. Make no mistake about this; the applications that will stress the bandwidth of today do not yet exist. However, as in all cases of technology advancements, we face the chicken and the egg dilemma. Many folks argue that few (if any) applications will use the high-speed communications. Others argue that if the bandwidth would be available, the applications would quickly follow. So we end up in the proverbial argument about supply and demand. Build it and they will use it!
How we approach this argument is what sets the systems and the programmers apart. Standards bodies, manufacturers, and carriers all have an obligation to stay ahead of the demand curve. They look out 3 to 5 years and determine what might be available if the protocols and standards are set. They also look at what the demand will be in the 5-year and beyond window. If they wait until the demand rises, they will be behind the curve and be under constant pressure. Conversely, if they jump too quickly, they will be ahead of the curve and the demand. Either way, the price of being ill-prepared is too great to...
