Pragmatic may think high-speed broadband access is a luxury but as someone who needs to download a piece of mobile phone management software like Nokia PC Suite which typically is over 20 megabytes in size, a broadband or high-speed connection is definitely preferable to doing it over using a 56Kbps modem with a high risk of losing the connection.

My less tech-savvy friend has a problem upgrading his Norton Antivirus and virus signatures over a 56Kbps connection at his sister's home and we're meeting soon to go to a Starbuck to use the WiFi connection there.

While I don't have broadband wireless access at home, I used the next best thing which is a two time slot Edge (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) phone which achieves about 115Kbps and incurs me no additional charges for connection time.

I'm currently subscribed to DiGi's RM99 per month flat data package and in one month, I downloaded close to 500MB of GPRS data, which otherwise would have cost me around RM5,000 in data charges alone. DiGi charges 10 sen per 10KB block.

I got over 200Kbps on a good day with a four time slot Edge phone (and certainly will get much more with a 3G phone once the service is available) which was about half the around 400Kbps I got in several WiFi hotspots in the Klang Valley and Singapore.

Like what Edge has done for me, I firmly believe 3G (third generation mobile network) will solve much of the woes we face in the shortage of fixed broadband besides providing an undreamed of freedom and mobility which no WiFi hotspot ever can.

I experienced that freedom and mobility while using the Nokia 9500 Communicator ie, I could send and receive e-mail and surf the Internet literally anytime, anywhere from my hotel in Batu Ferringhi, Ipoh, the Klang Valley, Cyberjaya, on the train to Singapore or almost anywhere in Singapore.

So I'm looking forward to getting a notebook and maybe an Edge data card if I decide to stick with DiGi or a 3G data card from Maxis or Celcom. But whatever, I will be able to access the Internet and my work e-mail from literally anywhere.

TM Net said last year that it would rollout a broadband wireless WiMax (Wireless interoperability for microwave Access) service by the end of this year.

However, members of the WiMax industry association - the WiMax Forum - tell me not to expect true WiMax interoperability certified equipment until next year, so the above rollout may be delayed a bit.

Jaring's broadband wireless system, meanwhile, is based on Wideband CDMA, the same radio technology currently used by 3G.

Indeed, we could have a more affordable and reliable fixed broadband over fixed lines for homes but as is the case in many developing countries, operators are taking the wireless instead of wired route, partly because it's cheaper than laying cables to homes and offices.

Also, as far as competition goes, we'd sooner get healthy competition between wireless service providers than we can ever hope to get through trying to force incumbent fixed line operators like Telekom Malaysia to open up its 'last mile' connection to subscribers' premises for use by competitors.

We can already see that healthy competition among the three mobile operators - Celcom, DiGi and Maxis - have caused to rates to fall to consumers' benefit. According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) mobile penetration reached 59.6 percent last year and is expected to reach 60 percent this year.

At the same time, fixed line penetration declined steadily from a peak of 19.7 percent in 2000 to 17.2 percent last year. So does it make sense to base a broadband service on a declining subscribers base ie, like Streamyx which requires subscribers have a wired telephone line to their premises?

I wouldn't be surprised if one day, faced with declining fixed line penetration, Telekom Malaysia decides to convert its fixed line to cellular GSM lines with the same number and call charges (like 4 sen per minute) as the current fixed lines.

It's already doing that with narrowband CDMA but GSM would provide the mobility. If Telekom ever does that, it will literally pull the plug on the competition in the same way Microsoft pulled the plug on Netscape by giving its Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser away for free.

Anyway, whatever, Malaysians should be patient and wait for wireless, which I firmly believe is the way to go, provided the charges are affordable.