Often referred to as Radio in the Loop (RITL), Fixed-Radio Access (FRA), or Wireless Local Loop (WLL), these are systems connecting customers to the public-switched telephone network (or PSTN). Radio signals are used as a copper substitute to provide part or full connection between the user and the switch. This system includes cordless access systems, fixed cellular systems, and proprietary fixed-radio access.

TodayÂ’s industry analysts predict that the worldwide WLL market will soon attract millions of users, with considerable growth in emerging economies that reach only a very limited percentage of their population with traditional wire-based telephone service. For example, analysts suggest that China, India, Brazil, Russia, and Indonesia might adopt WLL technology as an efficient means of deploying telephone service to multitudes of subscribers without having to undergo the expense of burying tons of copper wire.

Moreover, say analysts, in developed countries WLL technology will assist in unlocking competition in the local loop, thus enabling operators to bypass existing wire-line networks in order to deliver telephone services and data access. So the question, say analysts, is not “will the local loop go wireless?” but “where and when?”

See Also: Local Loop.