Entrepreneurial Ball State Goes WiMAX

The government gave higher education a lot of spectrum to play with, but in 2011 it's taking the spectrum back unless universities show they're putting it to good use.

By  Gerry Blackwell | May 6, 2010
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The government gave higher education a lot of spectrum to play with, but in 2011 it's taking the spectrum back unless universities show they're putting it to good use. The problem: Most of them aren't, and doubt they'll be able to in the next year. One solution: Ball State University is selling its services as a WiMAX network manager for schools in a hurry to get up and running.

Colleges and universities across the United States are caught in an interesting dilemma: Many, if not most, have been sitting for a few years on 2.5 GHz EBS (Educational Broadband Service) spectrum licensed from the FCC that they could be using to operate WiMAX networks. Few, however, are. Many lease part of what they own to companies such as Sprint and Clearwire. But now they risk losing whatever spectrum they haven't leased, just when there is something interesting and useful they could be doing with it.

EBS spectrum holders face a fast-approaching use-it-or-lose-it deadline in their FCC contracts. If they can't show they're making 'substantial' use of the spectrum by 2011, the federal regulator will take it back.

What to do?

Ball State University (BSU) in Muncie, Indiana, the only institution of higher learning to actually deploy a WiMAX network so far, believes it has a solution.

Read "Ball State Aims to Be the Big WiMAX on Campus" at Wi-Fi Planet

Gerry Blackwell is a veteran technology journalist based in London, Canada. His work has appeared in most major business and technology publications in Canada and appears regularly in internet.com.

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