st were taken over by rivals or fixed-line networking companies. Case Study Questions What were the main drivers behind the high valuation of wireless network planning companies? What value did wireless planning companies provide to mobile operators? Were these values inimitable and enduring? What was the value of the work force in this business and how has it changed? How did technology, business and policy factors impact this business? What were the reasons for the relative decline of network planning companies? Wireless Local Area Network Cellular Structure As discussed in Chapter 12 IEEE 802.11-based wireless LANs are a personal communications element in overall delivery of broadband telecommunications services. A possible cell struc- ture for these systems is similar to the macrocell definition above. Although several technol- logies have been developed to increase the coverage area of wireless LAN systems, due to the channel sense multiple access nature of their operation, coverage areas are likely to be small and more of a small cell nature. The difference here is that there exists no overlaying wireless LAN macrocell structure to provide large area coverage. Systems based on IEEE 802.11 technologies therefore require a large number of cell sites to provide continuous coverage. Present business models of public wireless LAN operators are mostly aimed at the so-called hot-spot coverage, such as within coffee shops, train stations, airports and SO on. City-wide wireless LAN services also have been provided for a number of years and use the fibre and cable infrastructure present in a CBD. In addition Network Topologies, Design and Convergence router Access point router Gateway router Internet router router Figure 13.18 Wireless LAN system roll-out wireless LAN multi-hop technologies enable a wider roll-out of these services as only a fraction of access points need to be connected to a fibre/cable fixed network. An example of a roll-out is shown in Figure 13.18. Wireless Local Area Network Off-loading With the