Micro-cells and distributed wireless networks …
For quite some time I have wondered when the cellular providers were going to see competition coming from new places. There are a variety of connectivity providers who have extensive ‘wired’ networks, and if coupled with micro/nano/pico-cellular antennas they could create a very competitive wireless solution which could potentially exceed the digital data bandwidths that the current cellular solutions are promising. Imagine if BT were to install alternative wireless solutions, strictly for digital data, at each of their payphones …

BT payphones to become phone aerials. That’s what it says ‘ere [The Register]

I believe that this is only going to expand more as the various DSL and Cable modem service providers discover that they have a much better wired data distribution network than the current cell phone providers. In cases where they are the cell phone provider I think they might figure out that they are going to want to cannabalize their own markets … before someone else does!

P.S. I am working with a team at Novell which is specifically researching exactly this … I want high speed wireless Internet access everywhere for my wearable computers!