million deposit down on the firm's holdings. Clearly, companies like Sprint and MCI see the value of wireless access to their own networks and have taken steps to bring about the technological convergence of innovative technologies to meet the grow- ing customer demand for high-speed Internet access. The manufactur- ing sector certainly sees advantages in the LMDS and MMDS markets; more than a dozen companies manufacture equipment for the two technologies. Downloaded from Digital Engineering Library @ McGraw-Hill (www.digitalengineeringlibrary.com) Copyright © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use as given at the website. Access Technologies Chapter 6 Freespace Optics Freespace optics involves the transmission of a coherent beam of light from a source to a destination, eliminating the costly requirement to build a fiber infrastructure or comply with FCC spectrum licensing requirements. A number of companies are involved in this technology including AirFiber, TeraBeam, Infrared Communication Systems, LSA Photonics, and LightPointe Communications. Bandwidth ranges from 155 Mbps (OC-3) to 622 Mbps (OC-12), over distances as far as 14 miles, with avail- ability ratings as high as 99.98 percent. Freespace optics are limited in capability compared to the fiber alter- native because the technology relies on line-of-sight transmission. As a result, distances are limited by 10 to 15-mile operational horizons due to the curvature of the Earth, building construction, atmospheric condi- tions, and limitations on laser power due to safety restrictions. They are, however, enjoying success in the marketplace because they require min- imal infrastructure. Bluetooth Bluetooth has had a tumultuous ride in the last few years. First her- alded as the next great connectivity option, its future is somewhat less assured today. The Bluetooth standard, named for tenth century Danish king, Harald Bluetooth, who united Denmark and part of Norway into a single kingdom, was developed by a