Spectrum allocation for fixed wireless access technologies in the Americas

To sustain a competitive access environment it is desirable to optimize the number of operators in a given market, but this requires allocation of multiple frequency bands and harmonization of their use. The authors discuss fixed wireless access technologies and the fundamental challenges that they face in terms of economics and available capacity, in particular for bandwidth hungry applications beyond basic POTS. Capacity constraints are relieved by migration to higher frequency ranges and the application of broadband wireless systems such as LMDS/LMCS.