Cellular Routers and the Last Mile

Over the last ten years a lot has been written about bridging the gap for the last mile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile) and given that I live pretty close to the end of the mile, I’ve been interested in the different technologies as they developed.  Since the phone and cable companies aren’t interested in running high speed service to my place (too few houses to make it profitable) and I wasn’t too keen on the prices for satellite based broad band hardware, I’ve been watching the cellular telephone industry as they have been releasing new technologies. 

Finally I have found a solution that I felt met my needs. I recently purchased and EVDO PCMCIA card (think cell phone on a network card) and a cellular router from Kyocera. (I went through the site http://www.evdoinfo.com. No affiliation, but they have a lot of good information and made for an easy online purchase.)  I was able to activate the card and configure the router in less than 30 minutes, following the instructions included with both.  Once configured and running, I had a WEP encrypted WiFi hot spot throughout the house. I haven’t used my PocketPC to see how far away from the router I can get a signal, but the signal is strong throughout the house.  The other benefit of this setup, is that when I travel I can take the card (and router if I want) with me and have high speed internet anywhere Verizon has the service available. Right now this is around most metropolitan areas, but is expanding. If the EVDO service isn’t available, the connection defaults to standard dial up.  The router also came with a 12v power cord so you can create a WiFi hot spot from your car.  Lots of potential. In fact one guy in

New York

is using this in a way that will almost surely end up as part of the basic gear used by police and fire personnel, and possibly even the military.  (See more at http://www.evdoinfo.com/The_News/Latest_News/ShakinDave_-_Portable_EVDO_WebCam_in_Eye_Glasses_20060327703/)

I’ll leave it to those who predict technologies on a regular basis to project when this kind of cellular data transmission becomes ubiquitous, but my prediction is that this market will continue to grow for a couple of reasons:

-         the basic infrastructure (towers, repeaters, etc.) is in place

-         it doesn’t require launching and maintaining geosynchronous satellites

-         you don’t have to drop cable to keep the service (no right of way, no maintenance, no back hoe’s)

-         as the technology advances and demand increases, the infrastructure for that area can be advanced as needed maximizing ROI

The end result, I think, is that in the not too distant future we’ll see companies like Verizon and Sprint offering video and television, much like Vonage offers telephone service over traditional data lines. It’s a brave new world and I like it!