A new television technology coming after eight long years of debate.
It's digital. It's wireless. It's local. It offers high-speed Internet access. It's akin to digital cable -- but without any cables.
The service doesn't yet have a catchy one-word name like "satellite" or "cable." When the Federal Communications Commission approved the technological service last week, it referred to it as a "multichannel video distribution and data service."
Whether this new wireless television technology can gain a footing in a field crowded with cable and satellite behemoths remains to be seen. One advantage is that it could bring broadband access to rural areas not served by cable. In addition, it could bring local channels to the 170 or so television markets whose satellite services do not carry local channels. And it potentially has a key advantage that many consumers care about: lower price. Wireless cable, which uses a network of land-based antennas to carry signals to and from a small dish at a user's home, is supposed to be cheaper than wired cable or wireless satellite service.
"This will be the Southwest Airlines of subscription television," said Sophia Collier, the president of Northpoint Technology, the small company that originally envisioned the technology.
Last week the US FCC ruled that the spectrum would be auctioned off in hundreds of geographic pieces. That decision opens up competition to a host of bidders. Satellite companies could potentially buy up licenses to create a combination satellite-terrestrial service, with the broadband and local channels being served by wireless cable.
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