Thanks to Jamie for sending me this great article on wired versus wireless technology (Broadband: Wired or wireless for the enterprise?).

The author interviews a wired guy and a wireless guy to determine which is a better fit.

The wired guy claims that “Ethernet” allows carriers to easily support a number of critical distributed applications in both the public and private sectors. The most difficult problem for carriers is the last mile and Ethernet over copper is a cost effective way to handle that challenge.

The wireless guys claims that wireless networks offer many benefits over wired lines, hitting on valid points such as geographical coverage being more widespread and less restricted by extreme terrain, and that applications can be fixed or mobile, enabling connectivity while on the move. He also points out deployment benefits with wireless. Cost was also a major factor.

Speed is often listed as a restriction to wireless but the emergence of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), a 3G-based protocol which supports download speeds of up to 14.4mbps and beyond in future.