Neotec, an industry association that represents most MMDS operators nationwide, began testing Navine and Nextnet digital transmission technologies in January. Unlike MMDS itself they aren?t line-of-sight technologies. In fact they resemble WLL or cellular telephony except for the 200 MHz bandwidth and very high transmission speeds. The trials, held in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, also involve digital applications in partnership with telcos whose names can?t be disclosed yet. Wireless MMDS access is natty because it enables the operator to offer a similar service to a Wi-Fi network on a citywide scale. Another advantage is capacity, since the technology is designed to provide video as well as data services.
The downside is that MMDS licenses oblige operators to offer pay television. The solution is network sharing with telcos with multimedia licenses (Portuguese-language acronym SCM). But this brings up a second problem: the frequencies allocated to MMDS can?t be used for mobile services. As a result the business models under development involve broadband voice and video for fixed-line subscribers only, even though mobility is technically feasible.
The technology is new and is in use in the United States. A Mexican MMDS operator recently launched the service. Neotec plans to apply for certification of the technology and equipment vendors in Brazil, leaving MMDS operators free to develop business models on their own.
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