There was interest in LMDS in the late 1990s and it became known in some circles as "wireless cable" for its potential to compete with cable companies for provision of broadband television to the home. The Federal Communications Commission auctioned spectrum for LMDS in 1998 and 1999.3
Despite its early potential and the hype that surrounded the technology, LMDS was slow to find commercial traction. Many equipment and technology vendors[who?] simply abandoned their LMDS product portfolios.
Industry observers[who?] believe that the window for LMDS has closed with newer technologies replacing it. Major telecommunications companies have been aggressive about deploying alternative technologies such as IPTV and fiber to the premises, also called "fiber optics". Moreover, LMDS has been surpassed in both technological and commercial potential by the LTE, WiMax and 5G NR standards.
Although some operators use LMDS to provide access services, LMDS is more commonly used for high-capacity backhaul for interconnection of networks such as GSM, UMTS, LTE and Wi-Fi.
Multichannel multipoint distribution service
Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LDMS), by Vinod Tipparaju, November 23, 1999, cis.ohio-state.edu via CiteseerX. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:s8dTOeReQlsJ:citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.127.9178%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf+Local+Multipoint+Distribution+Service+LMDS&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgF5SZbdkVYIRrx5zUHiFSLStOhVhelgPNwbjCWNpWpjG0HzWaY8wdQhznLnzG2HAoBw505-_HLEBYbED5pKo7WtiB3RYGywiJO7X5A71nPBr-OQU6XuhilogQON6b8ktR0gX_3&sig=AHIEtbS-izo2ba5JWOmBP0pHHZuBk5-wJA ↩
"Local Multipoint Distribution Service". Federal Communications Commission. 30 July 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2021. https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/broadband-division/local-multipoint-distribution-service ↩
Local Multipoint FCC LMDS Fact Sheet March 28, 1998 https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Factsheets/lmds.html ↩