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INDUSTRY NEWS


18 December 2008

Wireless spectrum critical to future Irish telecoms


Critical issues regarding the spectrum used for Ireland's wireless infrastructure will be paramount in safeguarding the country's broadband future, it has been claimed.

According to telecoms research company Analysys Mason, the higher rate of wireless broadband penetration in Ireland compared to other countries means that decisions affecting its spectrum will be much more keenly felt.

The analyst identified several issues that need addressing including the potential use of 2G spectrum for 3G services and the freed-up space from the switchover to Digital Terrestrial Television.

It also highlighted the uncertainty of the future of 2.6GHz spectrum, which is used in Ireland for LTE and WiMax services, as a potentially significant factor in the changing state of the industry.

The 2G spectrum at 900MHz is ideally suited to rural broadband, as is the extra spectrum from the digital dividend – though technical standards in the latter are currently less well defined,” said Patrick Kidney, senior manager of Analysys Mason Ireland.

Recently, Frost & Sullivan claimed that wireless enterprise technology is boosting the uptake of virtual private networks, as firms seek to shore up the security of their remote operations.

© 2006 Adfero Ltd.

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