Is 3G the last mile solution?

Is 3G the last mile solution?
April 2, 2002 11:36 AM

I've been harping about wireless technology and the opportunities it offers to today's wired citizen. The big thing I think will happen will be a new range of products and services made possible by the Big Fat Pipe (ie, transfer speeds in the megabit range). Today, delivering rich media, like audio, video and other data intensive applications, is not viable in the 56k economy.

I have also harped on the last mile problem and about how I think wireless technologies can help solve that problem. Today, Ars Technica published an article on a third generation wireless technology that is pretty in depth (as most Ars Technica articles are). Here's a quote...

IMT-2000 specifies a minimum data rate of 144 kilobits/second in high-mobility (vehicular) applications, 384 kilobits/second for pedestrian applications, and 2 megabits/second for indoor (stationary) applications. These speeds are intended to facilitate the delivery of high-quality audio, streaming video, content-laden web pages, and a veritable cornucopia of rich media "experiences."

And this is the result we should all be hoping for and what companies like AOL should attempting to harness to drive consumption rates and (advertising) revenues.