True broadband for the countryside [5GHz cognitive radio]

Although Canada holds one of the world's highest Internet take-up rates, 22% of the population still cannot receive broadband services. Canada's wireless community warmly welcomed a recent regulation set by the World Radio Congress (WRC). In June 2003, the WRC allocated new bands at 5250 to 5350 MHz and 5470 to 5725 MHz for unlicensed wireless access applications. The new bandwidth offers the promise of affordable broadband wireless built to global standards. The allocation and the technologies that support it may offer a viable "last mile" solution to regions around the world that are disadvantaged because of remoteness, cost or lack of infrastructure. The article describes the work done by the Canada's Communications Research Centre (CRC) to investigate the use of 5 GHz for rural community applications as part of its rural and remote broadband access programme.