If you're a wireline provider, you have to admit there are some challenges coming down the pike. Slow acceptance or not, 3G is coming, and the wireless data services' pricing plans are getting better rationalized. Users will come too; it's only a matter of time. They have already come to the cellular voice services - even as their primary telephone lines, and that migration is increasing.

So what's a wireline provider to do as these revenues shift outwards to other players? Well, the easy answer is fight back; the tough question is, with what?

First and foremost, we'd set aside the political considerations. If you cannot compete directly with the cellular player(s) because you own a huge chunk of them, then your options are more limited. We'd suggest you try resale agreements and bundling as a means to retain the customer base. Boost your OSS interfaces and electronic bonding with the cellular provider, and look to add value-added services for revenues.

But many wireline players are not in that position. And for these carriers, the answer is different in many places. We do work all over the globe and see two major applications now for no-brainer wireless services:

1. "Metrospot" nomadic solutions.
   
2. Wireline complement solutions.

The first really builds off of a lot of the news lately. We have seen supplemental protocols that allow dual mode transmission with 802.11b for extended reach up to 20 miles, even at highway speeds. Companies like IP Wireless, Navini, Etherlinx and others have various solutions - all of which have roadmaps to support both 802.11b PC card co-existence and wireless voice options. We're also seeing improvements in the transceiver technologies. Vivato is the most recent to offer the promise of breakthrough extended coverage solutions. And then there are mesh networking solutions that also cover metrospot applications, like Mesh Networks.

Here is where it gets interesting. Early form factors were modem-size solutions, and while you could carry them with you, they really begged your indulgence to consider them truly nomadic. But the 802.11b dual mode PC card is the way to go. When at home or office and in range of your wireless LAN, you can choose to be on that unlimited service. When out of range, you kick over to the metrospot solution that covers the whole city - far better than piecing together hotspots, and clearly the way to go.

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