National Communications Forum: Session PCS 10

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National Communications Forum Session PCS 10

• Wireless Broadband Access
• Session PCS 10
• Tuesday, October 17

Judith Hellerstein, President Hellerstein
Associates 2400 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 1023C
Washington, DC 20037 Phone [phone] Fax
[phone] Judithh_at_jhellerstein.com www.jhelle
rstein.com
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OUTLINE

• Demand drivers for broadband access
• What is fixed broadband wireless access?
• Four types of access technologies
• MMDS
• LMDS
• DEMS
• 38 GHz
• Benefits and challenges
• Target markets and market deployment

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Market Size

• Services
• Two Analyst views
• Strategis 2003 9.6B
• Pioneer 2007 14B
• Major Investments
• Sprint MMDS acquisitions Apr/99 for 870M
• MCI MMDS acquisitions Apr/99 for 805.6M
• Significant equipment RD investments

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Demand Drivers for Broadband Access

• Internet growing at exponential rates. By 2002,
  data will account for 99 of all traffic through
  the network
• By 2003, more than 50 of all Internet access
  will be through broadband DSL, Cable and
  Wireless
• More than half of all broadband access will be
  through DSL
• One in four users will be in smaller markets
• Strong demand in small, midsize and semi-rural
  markets
• Data traffic demand is driving access market to
  provide high-capacity transport
• Limitations of Fiber/DSL technology are driving
  the broadband wireless industry

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Bandwidth/Voice Supply Demand
Global Bandwidth Demand
Gbps
Source Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Research
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Estimated Growth in Consumer Broadband Access
of Households
Source Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Research
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Broadband is Changing the Shape of Business Access
Business Access Revenue Forecasts
1,339
957
893
114
Revenues Millions
161
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Source Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Research
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Bandwidth Requirements for Broadband Applications
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What is Broadband Wireless Access?

• Wireless broadband access uses radio spectrum
  rather than copper or fiber optic cable as a
  medium for transporting telecommunications and
  data traffic
• Uses spectrum from24 GHz to 42 GHz
• Value of spectrum depends on the frequency
  selected
• Targeted deployment
• Interface supports voice, data,a nd video
  services
• Bandwidth is shared among users in a cell.
• Wireless infrastructure
• Mobile unable to provide broadband services
• Fixed able to overcome the bottleneck in the
  first or last mile

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Fixed Broadband Wireless Technology

• Technology used to deliver wireless access
• Point-to-point
• Point-to-multipoint
• Allows high speed, high capacity two way
  multimedia service to be delivered quickly to
  consumer.
• Fixed wireless access uses spectrum between 24-42
  GHz
• ATM air interface supports voice, data, and video
  services
• Bandwidth shared among users in a cell
• Bandwidth applications from 64K to 155 Mb

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Microwave

• Licensed and unlicensed
• Licensed, MMDS, LMDS, DEMS, 38-39 GHZ
• Unlicensed 900-904 MHz, 2.4 GHz- 5.7 GHz

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Frequencies

• Frequencies available for delivering broadband
• Spectrum used is typically above 2 GHz
• Lower frequencies are often used for mobile
  applications, while higher frequencies are used
  for fixed wireless access
• Fixed Wireless technologies include LMDS, MMDS,
  and DEMS
• Fixed wireless spectrum lies between 24-42 GHz
• Both Licensed and unlicensed bands are available
• Unlicensed bands include 2.5, 5, 18, and 60 GHz
  bands (ex. Metricoms Ricochet)
• Licensed bands include 2.6, 24-26, 28-30, and
  38-40 GHz bands
• In the US, about 100 MHz is available in the MMDS
  band near 2.6 GHz and 1.3 MHz is available in the
  LMDS band near 30 GHz and 1.4 GHz is available
  near 40 GHz

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Fixed Wireless Systems Architectures

• Point -to-Point
• Point-to-Multipoint
• Point to Consecutive point

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Fixed Wireless Systems

• Point -to-Point
• Network Architecture consists of a single link
  between two points, typically two rooftop
  antennas
• Line of sight connection is needed between the
  two antennas
• Each point must be within 1-3 miles of the
  systems hub site

Base Station
Single Customer
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Point-to-Point (contined)

• The hub aggregates the traffic from multiple
  radios and then the traffic is backhauled to the
  companys switch

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Benefits of Point-to-Point Architecture

• Much less expensive than building a fiber
  network.
• Additional links added as need arises
• Ease of additional provisioning
• Highly flexible and easy to control

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Equipment

• The major providers are
• Digital Microwave
• Harris Corporation
• Wavespan
• Glenayre

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Point-to-Multipoint

• Systems are comprised of four main elements
• Hubs
• Radios
• Customer premise equipment (CPE), and
• Network management systems
• Customers access the network by sending voice and
  data traffic over the local network to a central
  hub-site as a radio signal. At the hub-site, the
  signal is converted back into voice and/or data
  traffic

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Point-to-Multipoint (continued)

• Operates as a hub and spoke linking a single
  radio hub with multiple rooftop antennas
• Since each hub site serves several buildings,
  this type of technology enables service providers
  to offer faster, cheaper, and more comprehensive
  serivces
• Multiple radios can then be combined to offer
  100 coverage.

Base Station
Up to several thousand customers
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Point-to-Multipoint (continued)

• Enables costs to be spread out more evenly among
  customers
• Uses spectrum more efficiently than
  point-to-point systems
• Difficulty in adding additional spectrum because
  of FCC imposed spectrum caps
• Enables bandwidth on demand on a pay per use basis

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Equipment providers

• The major providers are
• Nortel
• Newbridge Networks
• Lucent
• Alcatel
• Spike Technologies

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Point to Consecutive Point

• Being deployed by Advanced Radio Telecom using
  Tritons technology
• The technology is configured as a point-to-point
  redundant ring architecture capable if providing
  100 Mbs of bandwidth in each direction of the
  ring
• Ring configuration allows network operators the
  ability to expand the geographic area covered by
  an operator
• Capacity can be expanded by deploying additional
  rings in the area
• Network is fully redundant
• Rings are self healing
• Architecture is similar to SONET

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Four Types of Access Technologies

• MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution
  Services)
• DEMS (Digital Electronic Messaging Service)
• LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service)
• 38-39 GHZ

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Wireless DSL Consortium

• Wireless DSL Consortium formed in July 2000
• New group composed of Fixed Broadband Wireless
  equipment and chip manufacturers, system
  integrators, and service providers whose goals
  are
• To define, develop, and implement a set of open
  interfaces for MMDS products.
• Enable quality of service control to the end-user
• Improve Wireless broadband coverage to non
  line-of-sight customers
• Create protocol specifications, interoperability
  standards, and validation methods for testing of
  new standard.
• Members include, ADC Telecommunications, Conexant
  Systems, Gigabit Wireless, Intel, Nortel
  Networks, Nucentrix, Sprint, Vyyo, and Worldcom

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Standards-based Fixed Broadband Wireless

• Allows service providers to mass deploy Fixed
  Broadband Wireless equipment and service
• Lack of standards leads to market fragmentation,
  low volumes, and high cost
• Promotes interoperability of technologies and
  leads to increased customer choice
• Allows the market to provide more product and
  supplier alternatives than possible without a
  standard
• Helps focus industry on resolving other
  challenges necessary to reach mass deployment
• Lowers costs to suppliers and to consumers
• Increases choice of providers and greater
  selection of products

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MMDS

• Frequency Band 2.5 GHz
• Formerly a one-way service, but in September 1998
  FCC rules allowed for the commencement of two-way
  service
• In August 2000, the FCC began accepting
  applications by carriers wishing to convert their
  one-way MMDS spectrum into two-way spectrum
• Data rates 128 Kbit/s 1.544 Mbit/s
• Originally designed for the delivery of cable TV
  signals
• Supercell approach
• Market players Sprint MCI WorldCom have the
  potential to cover 60 of US households

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DEMS

• Frequency Band24 GHz
• Requires a cell radius of 23 miles
• Data rates 1.54 Mbit/s
• Market player Teligent holds between 80 and 400
  MHz of spectrum in 74 markets
• Only commercial carrier in the market

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LMDS

• Frequency band 28-31 GHz
• Largest block of spectrum ever authorized by the
  FCC
• Capability
• multichannel video programming
• two-way voice and data services
• Data Rates 64 Kbps 155 Mbps
• Market player Nextlink

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Typical LMDS User Equipment
Roof Antenna/Transceiver
Indoor Unit
Rx
Network Interface Unit (Indoor Unit)
Ethernet User Interface
RF Unit (Outdoor Unit)
Power
Tx
Prime AC Power
User Terminal 1-10 Mbps
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Projected World Market LMDS Service Revenue
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38 GHz

• FCC recently auctioned off spectrum
• Previously licensing of companies had been done
  on a case-by-case basis
• Market players
• Winstar
• Advanced Radio Telecom (ART)
• ATT

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Target Markets

• Target Markets
• SOHO
• Small Business
• Medium Business
• Residential
• Demand for high speed access over the past two
  years has resulted in 35-40 growth rates

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Benefits of Fixed Broadband Wireless

• Provides bandwidth and access speeds equal or
  greater than ADSL or cable modems
• Offers quick installation as compared to wired
  systems
• Can extend the reach of fiber or coax by
  providing the last mile of the network
• Fast market entry for service providers as
  compared to wired systems
• Low startup and entry costs
• Pay as you go approach carriers only required to
  add equipment as the number of users grow
• Operator control over facilities
• Flexibility of deployment, especially in
  medium--high population densities where
  penetration rates are initially low

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Services

• High speed data bursting as high as 20 Mbs
• Local Exchange and Long Distance
• Video Conferencing
• Training and Distance Learning
• Remote medical diagnostics
• Virtual Private Networks

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Benefits and Comparison
Wireless
Wire-line
LMDS
MMDS
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Alternative High-speed Access Technologies

• Cable modem
• DSL
• Broadband Satellite
• Fiber
• Mobile- 3G service

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Challenges

• Overcoming line-of-sight limitations, such as
  terrain and tree foliage
• Weather related signal loss
• Broadband wireless technology is not as well
  understood as broadband wired technologies
• Although spectrum is available, equipment is not
  readily available
• Technology for the higher frequencies is just now
  coming to market
• Lack of any high volume production of equipment
  needed
• 155 Mb modems are only produced in low-volume,
  high-cost production
• Technology for low-cost, high speed burst modems
  is available but systems have not been produced.

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Conclusion

• Fixed BWA will provide alternatives to ADSL, T1
  lines and HFC systems to deliver broadband
  services to both business and residential
  customers.
• Fixed BWA will complement, not replace wired
  systems.
• Fixed BWA systems will be used to extend the
  connectivity to fiber optic networks.

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• Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
• Judith Hellerstein, President
• Hellerstein Associates
• 2400 Virginia Avenue NW Washington, DC 20037
• Phone [phone] Fax [phone]
• Judith_at_jhellerstein.com www.jhellerstein.com
• Thank You