Next Generation Communications Get Countryside Boost

Next generation communications requires a stable, robust backbone from which to operate. Without that stable backbone, the system can't succeed. Yet trying to establish that backbone in some places is a challenge that's beyond the grasp of many firms, like setting up connectivity in rural settings. Many have chosen to just ignore this market, but for companies who pursue this market, opportunity awaits. EOLO, a fixed access provider in Italy, may have developed something to help here with some help from Intracom Telecom (News - Alert).

The combination of EOLO's fixed wireless access (FWA) network and Intracom Telecom's latest Point-to-Multipoint and WiBAS-Connect systems results in a greater potential for wireless access throughout EOLO's service region. The end result is broadband access that reaches speeds of over 100 Mpbs, which ranks it in the same class as 5G and makes it an excellent platform for next generation communications.

The rollout of this new network will be gradual, reports note, delivering next generation communications access to 13 areas in Italy, and working mainly in the 28GHz frequency band. That spectrum was recently awarded to EOLO by the Italian government, and once the system is complete, EOLO will be able to offer its services to a subscriber base of several hundred thousand.

Intracom Telecom CEO and president of the board Mohamed Ahmed commented, “We are delighted to partner with EOLO and support them accomplish their vision to be the first provider in Italy for Ultra-Broadband Internet connectivity to rural residential subscribers. We worked diligently with EOLO during the past years to provide our state-of-the-art technology to meet their high-end demanding requirements. We are determined to be part of their success.”

This is actually good news for both EOLO and Intracom Telecom. While 5G access will immediately pose a competitive threat to the duo's operation, the pair will have one significant advantage: a nearly two year head start. While it's unclear just when 5G will go live commercially—reports suggest 2020, but there's a lot of months in 2020—if EOLO and Intracom Telecom can get this system up and running fully by the end of 2017, that's about two years of uninterrupted access to the market. That kind of lead has made empires before, and there's little reason it couldn't do it here.

There's a great opportunity afoot here in next generation communications, and providing those kinds of speeds to a market that can barely get access to minimal speeds will win the pair a lot of customers. Only time will tell just how well it works, but there's certainly good news afoot.