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Yankee Launches Municipal Broadband Service
US research and consulting firm the Yankee Group has launched a Municipal Broadband Technologies & Services division, to provide vendors with market information. The company believes this market is set to grow, and predicts an investment of $500m in wireless broadband networks for communities in the US.
The new service complements the company's existing expertise in wireless/mobile technologies and broadband access technologies. The Group is currently conducting municipal broadband consulting for the City of Minneapolis and West Virginia, and is providing a feasibility study for a nationwide Wi-Fi/WiMAX network in Eastern Europe.
Yankee Group forecasts that, in addition to government applications, the municipal broadband market could yield $200m in annual public service revenues by 2008. At the same time, municipal broadband networks will help to narrow the digital divide by driving global broadband subscribers to 327m by 2008. The company says its specialist research and consulting services will 'help clients reduce risk and optimize returns as an ever-growing market of vendors, service providers and municipalities seek to bridge the digital divide'.
Yankee's EVP and Chief Research Officer Berge Ayvazian says the new service signifies the Group's commitment to 'providing the most comprehensive strategic solutions to private and public entities seeking to make universal broadband a reality'.
The Group's web site is at www.yankeegroup.com.
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