August 20th, 2010
Wireless Interference is not a problem with proper spectrum planning. It can be a real issue if the proper planning isn’t done. In basic terms, spectrum is to wireless like pipes are to plumbing, and you just can’t put two pipes in the same place.
Across our spectrum plan, we have products that range from 2GHz to 90GHz. At 2GHz the spectrum is omni-directional and perfect for multipoint connections and mobility. Conversely at 70/80GHz, we have hyper narrow beams that look like strings between the Campbell soup cans (with much higher capacity of course) and are a wonderful extension/compliment/alternative to fiber optic cable.
To help our customers with this rather complicated issue, GigaBeam has invested in planning tools, worked in concert with regulatory bodies globally to provide counsel on best practices and has an internal organization that specializes in system/network integration and planning so that the wireless component of any network we participate in is properly planned and executed. We also have created a broad portfolio so that if you live in a region where one band is clogged you can choose another one.
It is all about careful planning, and while wireless can experience interference let me close with a corollary thought, which is that interference is a part of the wired industry, in a sense, as well. Statistics show that everyday a backhoe inadvertently “interferes” with (i.e. cuts through) fiber optic cables every single day.
Tags: 70/80 GHz, interference, narrow beam, spectrum interference, spectrum planning, wireless backhaul, wireless implementation, wireless network
Posted in GigaBeam Advice, GigaBeam CEO, GigaBeam Products, Myths About Wireless, Wireless Urban Legends | No Comments »
May 28th, 2010
The real question is why would you? Wireless is a great tool for enhancing telecommunication systems. There are some things that wireless can do more effectively than wire-line systems and visa versa. We, at GigaBeam, have been a part of some “all wireless” networks and they work just fine. We do, however, look to our customers’ real needs when recommending technologies to affect a solution. Sometimes that might mean expanding an existing wire line infrastructure.
We champion the need for cooperation and co-existence and to that effect have created within our business a wide variety of wireless solutions where GigaBeam is a subject and technology expert. We have also teamed and partnered with companies in the Wire-line world as we really do need each other to maximize success for our customers and for our independent businesses.
Tags: all wireless, co-existence, cooperation, gigabeam, telecommunication systems, wire line infrastructure, wire-line, wireless, wireless backhaul, wireless network
Posted in GigaBeam Advice, GigaBeam CEO, GigaBeam Products, Myths About Wireless, Uncategorized, gigabeam | No Comments »
May 5th, 2010
Big myth and big falsehood. 70/80 GHz links have such a narrow beamwidth that interception is virtually impossible. And, while some wireless can be easily intercepted at low frequencies even that doesn’t make it a particular security risk. Consider that cables can be just as easily identified in conduits and junction boxes and that data can be stripped in either case.
The key again is planning and using tools to protect data. There are many arguments on this topic but if the need for security is high then information that is being transmitted should be encrypted/protected at the source and during transmission. The good news here is that there is an entire industry that deals with security and data protection and GigaBeam is engaged with a number of the players in this space.
Tags: 70/80 GHz, encryption, interception, security, wireless, wireless backhaul
Posted in Gi-CORE, GigaBeam Advice, GigaBeam CEO, Myths About Wireless, Wireless Urban Legends, gigabeam | No Comments »
March 17th, 2010
#8: Wireless Cannot Really Achieve 5-9’s
This is a real hot button for me because the power grid isn’t even 5-9’s. There are a number of issues with this metric as follows:
- For it to be statistically relevant it must be evaluated over years not just weeks or months.
- Common sense should dictate that anything that is singular is susceptible to and in time likely to have some form of failure.
- Many wireless providers make 5-9’s claims but do not properly explain what it means clearly (i.e. at what distance, under what weather conditions, etc.) and as a result an expectation is created that cannot be met.
Think of this for a moment. If you were to encapsulate a strand of fiber cable under glass, light it up and watch it for 10 years, do you think the circuit would stay intact for all but 50 minutes in that time period? The answer is absolutely no. The Power system itself isn’t 5-9s so this can’t be true, unless there are back up systems, redundancies and a network to ensure that when something does go wrong the customer of the service is not impacted. And, in fact, if you recall the years that fiber optic cable was first deployed the arguments against it were that it was not reliable. If you evaluate Sprint as the pioneer in the Fiber Optics space, it was nothing short of a miracle when their first cross country all Fiber Optic call was made. Today Sprint and others have determined that they needed to build redundancy into the system to make it more reliable. And that is exactly the same thing that we do with our wireless networks. We build in redundancy. The application in this example is different but the principals remain the same.
The bottom line is that nothing in life is inherently 5-9’s and the key mechanism to achieving ultra high availability is proper planning, understanding the technology at hand and designing a system/network that has the best chance of performing with ultra high availability.
Tags: 5 9s, broadband wireless, fiber optic, five nines, gigabeam, metro ethernet networks, power grid, redundancy, reliability, Sprint, wireless
Posted in Gi-CORE, GigaBeam Advice, GigaBeam Products, Myths About Wireless, Uncategorized, Wireless Urban Legends, gigabeam | No Comments »
February 24th, 2010
Myth #9: Wireless cannot handle ultra broadband capacities
Wireless solutions today can achieve Gigabit Ethernet (1.25Gb/s) full duplex capacities and at GigaBeam we are developing solutions that will achieve 10 times this capacity in the near term. There are many benefits to new wireless technologies that are the sum of innovations in chipset, software and regulatory policy improvements.
There is truth that Fiber cable can handle more capacity via DWDM technologies. This brings to light one of the real truths of the benefit of fiber and wireless cooperating. Each technology in its own right has a place within various applications in the telecommunications environment. The most simple example being that Fiber Optic is typically a better long haul solution and wireless is often more desirable in last/middle/first mile applications. There are scores of examples of cooperation between technologies, but the bottom line is that wireless can handle ultra broadband right now and the capacity reach of both wireless and fiber will increase materially in time.
Tags: broadband wireless, broadband wireless networks, fiber, fiber vs wireless, gigabit ethernet, last mile, long haul, middle mile, ultra broadband, wireless capacity
Posted in GigaBeam Advice, GigaBeam CEO, GigaBeam Products, Myths About Wireless, Uncategorized, Wireless Urban Legends, gigabeam | No Comments »
February 17th, 2010
A ten part series about what broadband wireless networks really offer
Part One #10: Wireless Networking Is Unpredictable:
SJL: Everything in life is unpredictable. “The trick to success in life is understanding those things that you cannot control and managing around them”, said Tom Landry who won a couple of championships and is a revered legend in the game of football. There is a true level of brilliance in these words.
Wireless networks are no more or less predictable than anything else in life, wired or not. The tricks of the trade apply as they do in almost any task- pick the right tool for the job, don’t ask a lamb to negotiate with a lion and don’t kid yourself into thinking you can’t. Wireless circuits have rules and what is important is understanding and abiding them.
At GigaBeam, we have centered our business around the total package approach of lots of tools, and a library of education. We find wireless networks to be extremely predictable. We say, just as real estate is all about “location location location,” wireless networks are all about “physics, physics and physics.”
Legitimate understanding, planning and implementation make for successful solutions to wireless communication challenges. There are a few known important considerations: setting, link distances, weather patterns, and data throughput needed. After that you simply pick the right tool for the task, put that tool to proper use, and understand how the various components interoperate. The results are extremely predictable. GigaBeam prides itself on our attention to these details. Plus, our aim is to be a true solutions partner to our clients and we appreciate that no one technology is ever the solution to all problems. We are not afraid to point our clients in a different direction, if one is called for. That said, we are confident that we have a world class product line up that will rival the likes of most communication challenges and we continue to build on our solution oriented culture.
Wireless is a wonderful facility for a great many communications challenges. Understanding, education and the resulting informed decision making are the key ingredients to a predictable network…….wireless, or otherwise.
Tags: access, backhaul, broadband, gigabeam, high capacity, link distance, links, mobility, predictability, ultra high capacity, wireless backhaul, wireless network
Posted in GigaBeam Advice, Myths About Wireless, Uncategorized, Wireless Urban Legends | No Comments »
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