***NTT To Roll Out 36Mbps Indoor Wireless Broadband Service
(January 26)
According to the Nikkei English News, Nippon Telegraph and
Telephone and group firm NTT East have announced that they will
launch an indoor broadband network in fiscal 2001 enabling
computers and other terminals to exchange wireless data
transmissions at up to 36Mbps.
The broadband service will combine fiber-optic networks with
wireless base stations installed in homes and offices to achieve
transmission speeds well in excess of the 1Mbps used for the
Bluetooth specification and the 11Mbps maximum for wireless local
area networks.
Prior to the service's full-fledged debut, NTT and NTT East will
begin six-month tests in March, concentrating them in Shibuya,
Tokyo. During the trial period, wireless base stations will be
set up in 20 households and 16 public spaces, such as hotels and
university common areas. Content will be distributed to 400
terminals given to local workers, college students and others.
Forty-six firms, including Matsushita Electric Industrial and
Sapporo Breweries, have agreed to cooperate in providing testing
areas, technical support and content during the trials. Movie
previews and cooking programs from commercial satellite
broadcasts have already been prepared for distribution.
Wave Issue 0105 1/26/01 Article 2-01