Ricochet 128 kbps unit, 2000--------------- Tropos 5110 Outdoor Wi-Fi Cell, 2004

Recent advances in the deployment of broadband wireless access in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Chaska, Minnesota, and the looming possibility of using these networks for a range of innovative services, might cause us to wonder if things always looked this bright for wireless broadband Internet access.

It wasn't always so. Here are some excerpts from a July 2, 2001, c|net article about the bankruptcy of wireless pioneer Metricom, purveyors of the Richocet wireless system, going out of business due to lack of demand:

"Metricom, a pioneer in providing wireless Internet access, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday."

"The company's troubles mirror the woes in the wireless industry. Although wireless Internet access was hyped as a major growth area just a year ago, consumers have shown little demand for such services.

"Metricom is considered a trailblazer in the industry, having signed up well-known investors such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Despite such backing, it has been pounded by modest demand and the high cost of introducing its service."

The original Richocet modem offered downloads at 28.8 kpbs. By Sept 2000, when Metricom announced that it was moving into more markets, it also announced the arrival of a unit capable of the then-blazing fast download rate of 128 kbps. You can read about this as well as find some astute and some less-astute predictions about the budding wireless space in this four-year-old article by clicking here.

Current wireless capability is in the megabit range and demand has seriously increased. Mainstream telecommunications carrier Verizon now offers "Wireless Internet BroadbandAccess" "at typical speeds of 300-500 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps."