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Table of Contents

I. Introduction










3
II. Why Estonia? An Unexpected First Step Toward Wireless & the Current State of Affairs
5
III. Broadband Wireless Access Technologies:
An
Overview
9
IV. Looking Forward: A Policy for Estonias e-Governance Academy



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I. Introduction
Over the past 20 years, we have seen significant changes in information technology, from the
earliest personal computers and dial-up modems to increasingly powerful and portable systems, outfitted
with always-on broadband Internet connections.
A major revolution in the way the world uses computers and networking technologies occurred
when broadband Internet connections became available to the masses and began replacing dial-up
connections in homes, universities and offices. It was at this point that the Internet began enabling the
average person to access content beyond text and simple images, making computers and the Internet
even bigger parts of our lives than they had ever been before. As we have interacted with computers
more and more, primarily due to the fact that we have been able to connect with each other faster than
ever, the Internet has come into its own as we know it today.
Alongside the Internet revolution, another significant revolution was taking place: the rise of
mobile phones. Mobile phones also find their roots in the early 1980s, when the first handheld cellular
radio devices became available. While the technology has changed quite a bit over the past 20 to 30
years, this preliminary revolution in mobility gave us a taste for what our computers could become, even
if most people did not instantly realize exactly what was happening.
Over the past few years, we have seen wireless proliferation continue with the rise of Local Area
Networking (LAN) technologies. At present, the most notable of these technologies is WiFi, which is
the commonplace name for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a/b/g/n
standards, respectively. More recently, other personal area networking technologies have emerged, such
as Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1 standard) and Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4 standard). But despite the
increased mobility and ease of use that such networking technologies afford many members of society, by no means is the wireless revolution in computing complete. In fact, one could argue that it is just
now starting.
With this in mind, long-range Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technologies are some of the
most important things for societies to consider as we move into the future. Technologies such as
WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 standard) and WiBro, the Korean standard of the technology, promise faster
network connection speeds than most people have ever used, and as the technology continues to be
developed, increased mobility with our networked devices. Ultimately, this heightened mobility will
allow societies to be even more connected on internal as well as global levels. In essence, the move
toward BWA technologies represents the fusion of the worlds two major technological revolutions of
the last two decades: phones are becoming computers, computers are becoming phones, and the
opportunities that our networked devices will present to us in the future are many.
Of course, while there are many opportunities this type of technology presents, questions about
how BWA technologies (and which technologies, specifically) will develop and eventually be integrated
into society remain. In conducting research as part of my Fulbright Scholarship, it has been my aim to
begin to answer the numerous questions that we, as both citizens of individual countries, as well of the
world, are beginning to face with regard to the opportunities that integrating wireless technologies into
our world poses. In answering these questions, I have given both formal and informal interviews, read
numerous articles on wireless technologies both in Estonia and around the world, taken excursions to
remote parts of Estonia, and ultimately, I formulated a conference entitled The Policy of Broadband
Wireless Access Technologies.
This document does its best to address how and why Estonia has pursued wireless technologies
so vigorously to date, why Estonia has had the success they have had, and what the future holds for wireless technologies in Estonia and in general. Ultimately, I will suggest a policy regarding Broadband
Wireless Access technologies for the e-Government Academy, and potentially for all of Estonia. II. Why Estonia? An Unexpected First Step Toward Wireless & The
Current State of Affairs
When I tell my friends and colleagues in America about the research I have done in Estonia,
most are surprised to hear the topic was wireless technologies. A few people understand instantly and
say, Yeah, Estonias incredibly developed with regard to wireless! but the truth is that most
(somewhat ignorantly) assume the opposite; that I must have come to Estonia to teach about wireless
networks, as a country that is so recently independent and has so few resources coming out of such
adverse times couldnt possibly be a world leader in wireless technologies.
For someone who hasnt been paying a lot of attention to the Baltic States since the fall of the
Soviet Union, this notion is at least a bit forgivable. I feel somewhat bad admitting this after living in
Estonia for almost a year, but when I arrived, like many Westerners I had a stereotypical image in my
head of what Eastern Europe would be like. In many ways I expected the standard of living for
everyone to be far below that of the U.S., for all of the buildings to be in disrepair or entirely abandoned,
and to encounter bureaucracy like Id never seen before.
In reality, however, what Ive found defines Estonia and Eastern Europe are not the remnants of
the Soviet Union, but the progress these countries have made since breaking free of Soviet occupancy
more than 15 years ago. Living in Tallinn for 11 months has made it clear to me that the stereotypes
Americans typically have toward many former Soviet states are seriously due for an overhaul, as
countries like Estonia lead the pack of former Soviet satellites toward prosperity. Sure, there are a few
abandoned buildings and Ive had overly-bureaucratic experiences in Estonia, but these are clearly
exceptions to the rule. Instead, the new rule seems to be technology everywhere. In Estonia, I found more cell
phones than people and nearly ubiquitous WiFi coverage across the country, both commercially and in
homes of citizens. I found national identification cards embedded with a microchip, which allow
citizens to utilize a variety of online e-services in day-to-day life, from e-Tax systems and e-Banking
to e-Healthcare, and in October 2005, for the first time anywhere in the world, nationwide e-Voting.
I even found Estonians designing a variety of mobile-solutions (m-solutions) that simply havent been
given much (if any) consideration for use in America and the western world, such as payment systems
for mobile phones (that threaten to replace credit card payments), location-based friend finders, and
even emergency services, such as e-Police systems.
I love sharing the story of the Estonian wireless miracle with outsiders, and when I explain a bit
about my research and how the country has embraced wireless technologies, without fail I get the
question, How come? And with good reason: why is Estonia more progressive and developed
(specifically with regard to information technology) than are Latvia, Lithuania or any other former
Soviet country, for that matter?

After hearing a few facts about my research and about the technological climate in Estonia, most
people assume that the progress this country has made roots back to the exceptional focus the country
has placed on technology since gaining independence, in programs like TigerLeap and Look@World. In
fact, this is what I assumed before I got arrived in country. But as I began talking to the people who
actually guided Estonia from repressed Soviet state to world leader in wireless technologies, I found
myself surprised: Estonias technophilic nature is not so much a cause of progress, but rather, a
symptom of it.

So, what initially distinguished Estonia from its counterparts? The answer I found was actually
quite surprising. According to Avo Ots, professor of Radio Engineering at Tallinn University of Technology and former member of the board of directors for Estonian Mobile Telecom (EMT), the
Estonian focus on technology originally was unintended. Instead, what happened was that during the
Soviet Era, when the USSR was stagnating under failing Communism, the top half of Estonia was
receiving Finnish television broadcasts. Thus, Estonians were not only exposed to the Finnish language,
but to Western ideals and the tremendous technological innovation that was taking place across Finland
(take Nokia, for example).

Because Helsinkis T.V. feeds were all transmitted wirelessly, there was nothing Russia could do
to stop Estonians from receiving and watching Finnish television. So, as Finnish technical innovation
occurred, Estonians watched attentively and took notes, noticing the stark differences between the lives
they were living and the lives they were consuming through television. When the Soviet Union finally
collapsed, Estonians embraced technology with open arms just as they had seen their Scandinavian
neighbors do years before with great success. The analogy that comes to mind is that of water gathering
against a dam; eventually the pressure breaks the dam and all of the water rushes through.
To me, the