AT&T rolls out WiMAX in Alaska -- could it be harbinger of broad-based fixed wireless expansion?

As part of its "commitment to broadband innovation," AT&T announced today it is deploying fixed terrestrial wireless broadband service in Alaska this year, starting in the Juneau area. Throughout the U.S, AT&T says it has deployed 22 fixed terrestrial wireless trials and "limited deployments" in U.S. communities to date, of which eight ended up as "active commercial deployments." According to AT&T's news release:

The new service uses WiMAX wireless technology, which enables delivery of broadband services to homes and small businesses with speeds that are similar to landline technologies such as DSL. With a range of up to several miles from a central tower, WiMAX technology is emerging as an alternative broadband solution for a range of locations where deployment of landline-based technologies is impractical or impossible.

Initial deployments of WiMAX technology in Alaska will be used to provide portable wireless broadband for home and business-based access, enabling users to plug in to the service at multiple home or work locations within the service's range. As mobile WiMAX technology advances, the company will evaluate options to enable additional roaming and mobility service options for customers.

While comparing throughput speeds to DSL, AT&T did not provide actual numbers. The company appears to be pricing the wireless service similarly to DSL, stating in the news release that monthly rates start at $19.95.

This announcement out of Alaska could have implications for the lower 48 states. While apparently the company is still working out the bugs, it appears probable AT&T could ramp up its fixed terrestrial wireless broadband in order to give it another alternative to offer broadband to residential customers. AT&T clearly needs another delivery option to bring broadband to residential and home office customers outside of the limited urban areas where it's deploying its new hybrid fiber and copper U-Verse broadband IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) infrastructure.

Weak DSL signals degrade once they travel more than 14,000 feet from an AT&T central office and the company has reportedly stopped installing additional remote terminals to boost DSL beyond the 14,000 foot limit. That means those who don't already get AT&T's DSL aren't likely to be offered it in the future.

Beyond the 14,000 foot DSL limit, I suspect AT&T is finding there's not as much demand as it would like for its repackaged satellite Internet service, WildBlue. That's hardly surprising given customers are locked into a one year contract for slow throughput, high latency, steep upfront costs and a poor overall value compared to other broadband technologies.

Ma Bell pipe dream: $1 billion in ad revenue in 3 years

Seems that everyone wants a piece of Internet-based ad revenue. Now even the companies that provide the "pipes" that carry the Internet want in on the action, including Ma Bell.

John Stankey, AT&T's president for operations support, told the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York that advertising could bring $1 billion to Ma Bell's top line in three years time. Stankey said AT&T can reach that revenue goal by virtue of being the biggest U.S. broadband provider, a wireless carrier and most recently, a purveyor of Internet Protocol Television Service (IPTV) via its nascent U-Verse video service.

I think Stankey's time line is far too optimistic given the slow pace of AT&T's U-verse rollout whose functionality hasn't yet been demonstrated on a large scale. Also the company's sluggishness in even upgrading large portions of its service area that must continue to use early 1990s dial up modem technology to access the Internet or the so-called "Molasses Net" -- satellite Internet service -- which AT&T is hawking via a reseller deal with satellite provider WildBlue.

Rather than the pipe providers getting into the advertising biz, the more likely scenario is the media giants like Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Web portals Yahoo! and Google getting into the pipes business, partnering with other companies to build their own broadband infrastructure after tiring of waiting on the telco/cable duopoly to expand their networks.

Sorry, wrong number: AT&T tells would be residential broadband customers to go suck a satellite

If you're an AT&T residential customer who's been waiting for years for broadband, indications are you're going to have to continue to wait some more. Hapless residential customers who visit AT&T's Web site to check on the availability of AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet get this message if it isn't:

AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet

	Our system indicates that our DSL service, AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, is not available at your location. However, let's see if we have another solution for you: You may qualify for satellite broadband from AT&T.Learn More If DSL becomes available at my location, Contact Me

The satellite service is from satellite Internet provider WildBlue. AT&T entered into a reseller deal with WildBlue about a year ago to sell the inferior (compared to what AT&T could offer if it chose to seriously invest in its wire line infrastructure), costly satellite service in areas it has written off over the foreseeable for wire line broadband.

Keep in mind this is from the same AT&T that boasts "Your world delivered" and actually believes it can provide television service over the same tired copper cable-based system that can't even support DSL let alone IPTV.