If you have a business that does mobile device testing, testing smartphones or cell phones, then I may be able to help you add some equipment for a reasonable cost. I have a friend who is getting out of the mobile device testing business. I explain below. His equipment, (located in England) can be shipped anywhere in the world.
He is getting out of the business because his Technical partner moved on. What can you do without the technical guy? He decided to move on so the business is shutting down unless he can find a new partner. They were working on developing equipment in the industry. The test equipment is used for testing any LTE and/or CDMA devices. It is made for the communications professional working on devices either in a lab or a production environment. Learn more in the documentation in the links below.
If you would rather be a partner, he would be open to that, but the current plan is to sell the equipment. Reach out to me at Wade4wireless@gmail.com is either way.
Here is the overview:
Anritsu ME7834L LTE Mobile device test platform with a view to developing products within the industry that was original purchased by NIVIDIA and used in Bristol, England, UK.
What is Fixed Wireless? What is FWA? What is the future of fixed wireless? Will FWA replace FTTH? Will FWA replace FTTx? Will the carriers roll out FWA to compete with the cable companies? Read on to learn the answer to all of these questions!
Chances are it will take off, in fact, the major carriers are counting on it!
Is 5G mostly fixed wireless? Some of it will be, along with IOT, massive broadband, augmented reality, and surprising mobility.
Will fixed wireless replace fiber to the home? The carriers are hoping it does because of the cost effectiveness and the ease of installation.
Will fixed wireless replace cable modems? Again, the carriers are betting on this, and the cable companies know this, they know that can do something and finally enter the wireless arena, for real this time.
Tower Safety and Instruction has a new online school, check it out athttp://teltech-college.com/ when you are ready to step up your learning in telecom!
Fixed wireless access, FWA, is going to be a game-changer in so many ways. It is going to be part of the 5G network slicing that we have all heard about. There is a spectrum, like CBRS, mmwave, and CMwave that will make it or break it. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint already are testing this on MIMO antennas. They are counting on a new income stream. The question will be, what is the ease of install to the end-user, the consumer, you and me? Do we still need someone to come out and wire up the house? Do we need someone like the DISH network guys to put an antenna on the roof? Alternatively, maybe, can we just put a unit in the window that could receive the licensed or lightly licensed signal then transmit Wi-Fi in the home? Wouldn’t that be cool? Just like the wireless modems we used to know only on steroids giving us speeds of over 50Mbps and up. That is the dream right, bad weather or good, power or no power (UPS backup) that businesses and homes have massive broadband with under an hour of setup.
What is fixed wireless? Think of your internet access at your home. Many of you have cable modems; some have fiber to the home, FTTH, which you may call Verizon FIOS or AT&T U-Verse. The wired solutions are expensive for the larger companies to deploy, just ask Google who thought they could do it for less money but learned the hard way that physical attachment to poles takes more than just goodwill to the city. I talked to my friend in Nashville where the poles had rights of refusal by AT&T and the local cable companies that did NOT want Google to play in their neighborhoods. It did not matter what the city said; whoever had rights to the poles had the last word!
That is where the wireless option looks so attractive for so many reasons and 5G technology, like cmwave, mmwave, and CBRS can help make this happen. We still need fiber, that part is crucial, but we do not need to run it to every home. There is an opportunity to build out FWA to the home using 3.5Ghz or 28GHz, all depending o the location and distance to the BTS.
By the way, this has been done before with microwave connecting buildings for telecom services; this is not new. It is just that now we have a way to get it to each business and we are an all-IP network now. This technology is available today and being done by point to point microwave as well as multipoint systems. It is just now we have a spectrum that we can use with newer and better technology. We have the opportunity to shape the broadband rollout to improve the broadband infrastructure in a profound way. The technology has arrived.
Can we get more spectrum? It looks like the US FCC took the first steps, they have opened 28GHz (27.5–28.35GHz), 37GHz (37–38.6GHz), and 39GHz (38.6–40GHz). It is something that we can use, I hope. Also, 7GHz of the unlicensed spectrum from 64–71GHz. If you remember, some of these bands were utilized in the past to deliver point to point, PTP, microwave for building access. Now that the equipment is changing and becoming more cost-effective, it can be used in new applications. MIMO antennas and systems are also helping the cause. Technology has come a long way!
I am looking forward to having fixed wireless rollout. If we can get broadband to the homes without cables or fiber running through the house, how cool would that be? If small businesses could have broadband in their stores and homes without waiting for fiber to be deployed, how great would that be? If we could only have a unit that we could put on a window facing one antenna outside and have the Wi-Fi inside, life would be grand! I think this is coming.
The carriers are pushing to get fixed wireless out to the public. They have been trying to work with several technologies. Whatever they work with it looks like LTE will be the foundation of the format. It could be mmwave or spectrum they have for LTE today. The carriers will tell you that this is 5G, but it has more to do with LTE being able to push the limits using carrier aggregation in the current spectrum and making new spectrum multipoint. Carrier aggregation makes that look realistic. I think Sprint is in a great position with all the 2.5GHz spectrum they have to pull this off quickly. If only they would spend the money to do it.
With mmwave, we have large bands. The great news is that it could be deployed quickly. I think it will be lightly licensed because the coverage area is so small. I also believe it could be the solution to getting large amounts of spectrum to building in a short time. The current systems are a point to point, but they are rolling out multipoint systems. There is an article in Gigabit Wireless that helps to explain more about mmwave and the multipoint technology in that band.
I believe that 1Gbps links will make it possible to run 100Mbps to multiple homes from one cell, be it a small cell or a Macro. Although only a Macro can do that now, it has to improve. All the carriers are promising this.
I believe that we will see a fixed wireless solution very soon. I believe that 100Mbps to the house via a wireless link is very realistic. This will be a game changer that will have a dramatic effect on our daily lives. With my cable modem, I feel I get pretty good speed, today I tested it and got 67.3Mbps down and 11.9Mbps up. I am happy with this at home, today, which I show from Google’s internet speed test on Comcast, shown below. Way to go Comcast!
If I get fixed wireless, will it work this well? I hope so. As you can see, it must give about 100Mbps to each home. The cable company can do this today and more. Verizon and AT&T both offer this over fiber and more. If they do it with LTE, I see TDD working better the FDD so that they can proactively balance the upload and download speeds. That is why Sprint has a prime spectrum with their 2.5GHz band. This band travels well and would work great as a fixed wireless platform.
The question now is, is it cost-effective to use FWA over other technologies? The installation and setup will determine that. That is why I say KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid! The key is to make the installation so easy that anyone can do it, as the end-user. If someone has to pay $1,000 for an installation, it may not be cost-effective. Most companies may do this for 100Mbps of service but at home people bitch over paying the cable company to come out and install their equipment for a few hundred dollars. I know I do. Especially when you are paying hundreds a month for service. Home users want value at an affordable price. However, home businesses rely on reliability, so make it very reliable. Price and reliability which will be determined by competition, which is one thing that the cable companies do not have right now. Seriously, whoever has a connection to your home is the winner, and cable modems are way faster than DSL. Will that change with FWA? Will cable be competing with the wireless carriers? Of course.
If they can make the installation simple, easier than hooking up my phone, I would be happy. I do not see why not. Have the outdoor wireless connect to something straightforward and efficient indoors. Let the people see the signal level for the outdoor connection, like DISH used to do, and make it broadcast Wi-Fi inside. Preferable Wave 2 with the ability to connect an indoor router via wired Ethernet. Then life is great!
Will this be easy for the carrier or service provider to do, not really? However, would it be easy for the cable companies to roll out, definitely yes? They have the infrastructure to make this happen. They could deploy the radios efficiently and quickly. They have the workforce and the structure to handle business and residential. If only they had the spectrum. If only the cable companies would move into the wireless realm. They would be a force to be reckoned with. They already have a huge customer base, and they have the core and the support centers. I think that cable companies are positioned well. Will they roll something out? If they can get in on the CBRS or the mmwave or the
I just heard an interview with John Legere where he explains, (I am paraphrasing) how companies are identified by their infrastructure, wireless or cable, and the end-user could care less. I agree with this. I think that people just want broadband when they need it, whether it is home or on their device or in a coffee shop. I agree with Legere when he explains how mobile is taking over and that people just want to have a great connection. He has been on fire lately because T-Mobile has had a kick ass year and he will not stop. He turned T-Mobile into a player, putting Sprint behind him and making AT&T sweat.
I think that he makes an excellent point. I believe that the internet providers will be listed as providers and as companies like Google will be media providers. I think that AT&T is trying to play both sides. There are going to be providers of the service and providers of the content. Who is going to win in the upcoming battle? I am not sure but we need to stop looking at cable companies and carriers for service their specific audiences, and they will start service everyone. Barriers are coming down, and the gloves will come off.
Will cable companies merge with carriers to remain competitive? Probably, look at Comcast working with Verizon and AT&T taking over DirecTV. Competition is rising. Comcast has the money to start their wireless system or take over a player like T-Mobile, but will they spend the money? They have not so far, but the playing field is changing, and Comcast sees the writing on the wall. It is time to make something great happen!
As a final note, and a way for me to bring smart cities into this. I believe that all smart cities want competition in broadband, they want the service everywhere in their cities, so the FWA will make that option a reality of the carriers build the entire city. All areas of the cities need to be served, not just the business districts or the upscale neighborhoods. I get that the carrier wants payback, but we need to blanket cities to give everyone an equal opportunity! This is making broadband the new infrastructure backbone of America and giving us all an opportunity to play. Let’s make something great happen!
The foundations below do beautiful work, helping families in their time of need. Climbers often get seriously injured or die on the job. The foundations below support those families in their time of greatest need!
Hubble Foundation helps the families of climbers in a time of need and beyond with financial support and counseling!
Tower Family Foundation supports the families of tower climbers at the time of crisis when a climber falls with financial assistance and more.
I have been speaking about how the spectrum of 5G will shift into the hands of the small business once again. Well, now there are more people on board with this theory. It seems that CBRS is making it all happen and IWCE had CBRS as one of its focal points. (Even though I could not make it this year, they talked about it!)
Tower Safety and Instruction has a new online school, check it out athttp://teltech-college.com/ when you are ready to step up your learning in telecom!
Quick update, the US CBRS is the 3.5GHz band, which runs from 3550 to 3700 MHz band. CBRS stands for Citizens Broadband Radio Service (in remembrance of the CB, Citizens Band). It is a licensed spectrum, but it is split up into 2 areas. There is Military radar, and Earth stations that use this spectrum that are grandfathered in and have priority access. That will not change. There will be Authorized Shared Access, (ASA). Currently in the US only, but Europe is looking to follow suit with Licensed Shared Access, (LSA).
Incumbent access including the federal government and satellite providers.
Priority access licenses (PAL) which are 7 10MHz licenses to be awarded to the highest bidders. PALs will be protected from the GAA users. PAL will include commercial users like carriers, rural operators, are a 3-year license with only 1 renewal term allowed at this time, and will be in the 3500 to 3650 portion of the spectrum. One licensee can hold only 4 PAL licenses.
General access user, (GAA) which is “Licensed by rule” which requires the rules to be followed. This will be dedicated in the 3650 to 3750 MHz portion of the band.
A PAL may gain additional GAA spectrum.
Companies that currently have this spectrum licenses will be able to keep their licenses; this was used for WiMAX in the past, now it will be LTE focused.
Licensing will be done by the Spectrum Allocation System, (SAS), which is a group that can charge for these services, currently being led by Google and Federated Wireless.
Hardware vendors include SpiderCloud, Ruckus, Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, ip.access, and Acceleron.
I have been continuously explaining how CBRS will become a major player if the vendors pick up on it. Well, Google seems very interested. My friend Tom Ulrich put together the following report that covers how Google is excited to work with this spectrum and how it is the new beachfront property. How it will open new doors for all of us to deploy over the next 5 years or so.
IWCE had entire workshops on it where all the big OEMs were there to promote the spectrum. They see great opportunity for growth here. One such workshop was “Building an Ecosystem for the CBRS Band” that had all the big players there. Nokia, Ericsson, Ruckus, Google, WISPA, Airspan, Federated Wireless, Comsearch, Telrad, and Cambium Networks were all presenting something about what they could do to contribute. They all see great potential in this. If you are a system integrator or do network implementation, then hopefully you see the potential as well.
I was reading a report by ABI Research that mentions several articles pointing to Verizon Wireless plans to use CBRS to replace middle price DAS systems, the articles in RCRand Fierce Wirelessusing CBRS as the neutral host solution. Then it shows how Nokia added the CBRS to its Airscale product and the Ruckus OpenG product to follow suit. Not to be outdone but Acceleron also has a CBRS product. Just to be fair,Spidercloud was one of the first to have a CBRS product. It spears that Spidercloud is already reaching out the DAS vendors and Verizon to bridge the gap for smaller DAS systems. We shall see more of SAS, (Small Cell Antenna Systems) popping up to replace the smaller DAS systems.
Could CBRS solve the DAS middleware problem? Could CBRS products fill the void where no one wants to invest in those 100,000 to 500,000 square feet venues where it is too small for a carrier but too large for a small cell? Is this the savior we are looking for? I hope so! A clean way to hand off and a lightly licensed spectrum where we would not all be trampling on each other in the Wi-Fi space. I see a solution that could solve so many issues, financial and technical.
While this will mostly be an indoor solution, something where we could replace some DAS system with a common platform licensed spectrum that all the carriers and non-carriers could share to reach the dense population, it will be used for enterprise and outdoor coverage as a critical part of the 5G network slice. I am looking forward to seeing what small businesses can do with this spectrum to serve the people.
If you want a quick overview, here are 2 links that can help:
I focus mostly on the enterprise play here, but the reality is that we can use this spectrum for more than just indoor solutions. I see the spectrum to be used for new solutions like backhaul in the tough area or as a fixed wireless solution for placed where we need limited spectrum over short distances. I also see the carriers using this as a common small cell solution that can handoff from the licensed LTE spectrum we see today to be used to fill small holes without the very expensive LTE spectrum that they FCC auctioned off for a very high price. I see cost-effective small cells in public area where the more expensive solutions from, the bigger OEMs are not practical. Price matters, but the high cost of backhaul is one of the limitations that hold back deployment, along with permitting costs. All of this are restricting small cell deployment today causing the FCC to push legislation to streamline coverage. Everyone wants great coverage and high bandwidth, no one wants to see an ugly tower in their back yard.
I see CBRS filling the public venues with an alternative to smaller DAS systems by dropping in a CBRS small cell with multiple bands to provide a lightly licensed signal where the carriers would roam onto this device. Clean signal without the threat of another access point going up on the same band(s).
CBRS will allow small business and Enterprise to have their lightly licensed spectrum, something that the FCC has kept from small business for quite some time. I get it, they make billions on the auctions, but it has not helped small business broadband. They feel the ISM band was enough for them to build on. I feel differently. Now I see opportunity in CBRS, centimeter wave and millimeter wave spectrums. Let’s deploy and bring broadband and narrowband to the masses! Broadband for internet access and narrowband for IOT access. It’s exciting to see the industry have more opportunity again!
Tom’s Report:
Tom did put together some notes from IWCE. Here is Tom’s report from IWCE, Is CBRS ending “Beachfront Spectrum”?
I had the pleasure to attend IWCE this week and was blown away by Dr. Preston Marshall’s {Alphabet/ Google} presentation on CBRS.
If I had to describe his presentation into 3 words it would be:
Ecosystem
Incentive
Innovation
Is the Ecosystem of Spectrum Landscape changing? Will CBRS end the need for Beachfront Spectrum?
It is first important to look closely at the “Current reality” of Wireless Spectrum: How does the current Spectrum landscape preclude innovation?
Licensed Spectrum is Expensive – Past Auctions cost the WSP’s Billions to own the right to this FCC Licensed Spectrum and only come available once every ~3-5 years. They also really limit the number of participant and winners. Do you have a Billion dollars to purchase spectrum for your “Garage idea of the Century?
Newly Licensed Spectrum roll outs are meticulously planned and take forever to plan/ execute. They often force the WSP’s to commit to the next technology type before knowing how successfully adopted it will be. Even after the Spectrum purchase, Look at how many Billions of Dollars were committed in development/ deployment in WiMAX for Intel, Google, & Sprint before changing to an LTE-based solution. Look at how difficult turning off old technology types {Analog, iDEN, GSM, UMTS, & CDMA} have become.
Spectrum is Slow to deploy and can take 6-8+ years to clear spectrum, raise funding, and establish a product rollout. Look at failed Spectrum rollouts like Lightsquared, Next-Wave, etc. Some companies like Dish have even had the forward though of saving spectrum, waiting for the next technology shift, or WSP Spectrum shortage to capitalize on their dormant Wireless portfolio.
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In today’s unlicensed wireless ecosystem it encourages OEM’s to make cheap, lousy radios that do not perform very well with interference present. 802.11 Wireless AP’s are often a cheap commodity that needs to be upgraded or replaced every 3-5 years. How much innovation can we drive with a $40 access point? This often drives the race to the bottom on who can create the least cost AP.
How does CBRS set-up to change the Spectrum Landscape and Drive Innovation?
Dr. Marshall stated, “CBRS will make spectrum buying an economic decision.” It incentivizes stakeholders to maximize their ability to deflect interference and operate with radios that can perform in a noisier shared spectrum environment.
Dr. Marshall detailed his 4 step plan to rolling out CBRS
Regulatory – Helped get FCC approval, help develop standards within the Wireless Innovation Forum, and CBRS Alliance. Established FCC Part 96.
Coexist – Creating an ecosystem environment for Multiple Technologies and Stakeholders
Recruit – Recruit top talent and buy-in from Wireless industry
Prove – Further innovate standards, product, Solutions, and Applications.
CBRS creates a Wireless Ecosystem that now will encourage innovation and allows for fast, less expensive rollouts. Why not put a solution in the Marketplace and let the market decide how well it is adopted before committing to extensive field trials and Millions of dollars?
Dr. Marshall detailed that this Spectrum Landscape is sustainable to support additional shared spectrum bands, and may hold some of the keys on Business models, and landscape of 5G.
Special thanks to Tom for sending this back to us.
Now, my opinion. We have seen the players be OEMs and carriers and other integrators in this space. Who has been conspicuously absent has been the cable companies. Here is space where they can shine, grow, and spread beyond Wi-Fi without building an ironclad agreement with one carrier. They have the money and the deployment process to make this a phenomenal area of growth. I would like to think that SpiderCloud would be calling the cable companies with proposals and business cases. Just my opinion. It is time for the cable companies to make it happen in wireless deployment.
The foundations below do beautiful work, helping families in their time of need. Climbers often get seriously injured or die on the job. The foundations below support those families in their time of greatest need!
Hubble Foundation helps the families of climbers in a time of need and beyond with financial support and counseling!
Tower Family Foundation supports the families of tower climbers at the time of crisis when a climber falls with financial support and more.
I have seen some smart city questions come my way, specifically, how can the smart city be sustainable. When I think of sustainability, I think of how to make the system pay for itself. To make it a viable and long-lasting program that doesn’t rely on tax dollars just to survive. Those systems often die off a financial death. So, what can we look at for income and a reduction of expenses?
It’s a good idea to create a plan to add income and reduce existing expenses and make it all look nice. We want to be prepared for when the opportunity comes to us. We also should be prepared to look at the existing leases and contract because it’s a good idea to know where you’re starting from.
Expense reduction is not always obvious. Using lower power LED lights makes sense, if the lamps are easy to replace and have a payback of less than 1 year. Which has been an issue. However, we can see where we can save money in the long run by investing now. Expense reduction is not obvious to us because we normally we look to spend money up front but we know we can save them money in the long run. We need to build a good long-term case because technology people look at things so differently than the financial guys do. For example, the IT people see a new server that is energy-efficient and has a low heat footprint is going to save money on not only energy savings but with less heat the cooling isn’t so critical saving money on the air conditioning bill. Most financial people will look at the expense to buy the new equipment. They see the one-time bill, not the big picture. That is why the technology groups need to provide a bigger picture when possible. Don’t worry because most OEMs will do it for you so that they can sell their equipment. I just want you to be prepared to get the right data. To prove to the financial people that we have the answer for long-term sustainability, cost effectiveness, and that this is a long-term solution.
I know what you’re thinking, I just avoided specifics. Well, here they are. The obvious, LED lighting, which is coming down in the upfront costs. Solar systems which are also becoming more and more cost-effective, especially where there is plenty of sun. Not so effective in the northeast just yet, but I see them all over California in newer communities. What about low energy equipment? Wi-Fi has already learned this, they lowered power and became creative with the way they connect power, this has really helped the cable companies deploy Wi-Fi everywhere. Just like their interfaces. It works well and its reliable, and it’s made to be outdoors. They have Wi-Fi in street lamps, (in the lamp or in the post), so there is no obvious equipment on the post, Dallas is already doing this as is Los Angeles. That’s right, it’s real and being deployed. Just like LTE will be soon. (I am not talking about smart light bulbs in your home, they connect to Wi-Fi but they are not a hot spot.)
I know that aesthetics matter in the city. So, they could put in a new pole with new lighting that takes less energy. They could also have a pole that is ready for the growth of wireless equipment inside the pole. Maybe they could think through the poles to add small cells, Wi-Fi, and routing equipment with fiber access. Then what? You make money off the asset. This is where you really have something to gain. Replacing the pole costs money and if they have to run new power for the lamps it will be a lot of money. Older lamps ran on higher voltage, so it could be cost inhibitive now.
Now, let’s look at ways to make money of existing city asset.
The low hanging fruit for the city is to lease the assets, like poles, lampposts, traffic lamp posts, strand, and more. Just be smart when you negotiate the lease for the poles, remember that most carriers want the pole to themselves, but don’t get into an exclusivity contract for all poles. Be smart and plan it out. Also, if you don’t’ want to manage the poles, then work out a deal with a company that already is good at leasing poles. Make sure you get a piece of the rent for each pole. While up front, the income will seem low, as the need grows, you will have more income from new players. This is tough on many poles because there are already local telecom and cable companies on there. One thing that many cities learned is that many of these poles with fiber on already have contracts in place where they limit the competition getting on new poles. Don’t limit your options. Make sure you put in there that it must look nice and be quiet.
Be quiet? What does that mean? It means that older equipment had loud fans that really bothered the residents. If it’s in a residential neighborhood, then it should be quiet. It must look nice, so people don’t complain.
Let’s look at other income, do you already have fiber or wireless backhaul. This is something that you could position to lease or offer carrier services. If you don’t want to manage it, then you could work with a fiber distribution company to manage your fiber. It’s a source of income that could be utilized.
You would provide space for kiosks that would be great for Wi-Fi access and digital signage. I see two models, one where you just lease the space and let the company build and do it all. The second model is like what NYC has done, build the kiosk, put in Wi-Fi, and provide digital signage. You could make money from the rent, of the Wi-Fi access, or advertising on the digital signage. The choice is yours.
Obviously, you will make money with the permits, just be smart about it, if you put crazy restrictions in place where you should inspect each one, you will lose money. If you are very clear on what the installation should look and sound like, then you can expect a quality installation and inspect a sample. To do this efficiently, lay out the expectations up front, don’t leave any room there to guess. Put in what the pole should look like, how they should run the cables underground, how they should mount the antennas, how it should be quiet, how the lamp should look, who can attach wires to it if that applies, where the fiber access should be and where the fiber equipment should be mounted (inside the pole, in a box, or underground. All the details should be thought out ahead of time, not after the fact. Be careful with whom you and out permits too. Pay attention to who does good work and who cheats.
Permitting also could be for the underground access. Remember that if someone something in the ground then you have control of it. I know many companies put in boxes underground for access and they look great. Underground boxes can add income to the city, and it can keep the equipment out of site and out of mind. They can put antennas on manholes, it’s a new frontier for Wi-Fi and small cells, to put the signal on the ground and shoot up.
Don’t forget the apps! The city can provide apps to promote city business. Remember that the goal is to grow the business, so partner with then, like your local chamber of commerce, will be happy to have a way to promote business in the city. Make it easy with the apps that residents and tourists can add to their smart devices. Make it easy!
With city-owned Wi-Fi, the workers will have broadband access all over the city. Give the workers a free account and have them use it for access to databases, trouble ticket systems, time keeping, and so on. Use the network that is there.
Use your assets to give remote access to your parking meters, another source of income. If people can pay with apps and credit cards over a wireless backhaul, then your revenue is not only going up, but you don’t need to dump the change out of the meters. You can also track what parking spaces are busy all the time and which ones never are used. Less expense and easier income along with real-time analytics make the city a winner. If the parking garages are city owned, then it’s a bigger way to get income and track open spaces.
If the smart city is going to survive and grown, then put some proper planning in place. A connected city is part of the smart city. A smart city is a happy city. A smart city has the foundation to grow and attract more residents and visitors. Sustainability is key to making this happen.
The foundations below do beautiful work, helping families in their time of need. Climbers often get seriously injured or die on the job. The foundations below support those families in their time of greatest need!
Hubble Foundation helps the families of climbers in a time of need and beyond with financial support and counseling!
Tower Family Foundation supports the families of tower climbers at the time of crisis when a climber falls with financial support and more.
The foundation for a smart city is really the assets it can provide. The key to good assets is to use what is existing. I am going to focus more on wireless, but there are great opportunities that the larger cities are already thinking of.
Poles – there are plenty of poles throughout the city. They could be wood poles, lampposts, or poles to hold up traffic lights. Remember that these are valuable assets that could be utilized or rented.
Small cells for dense networks is already happening. The pole owners, could be the city r a utility, have a great opportunity to rent these poles out or let people hang small cells and fiber on them.
Cameras will be deployed more and more to track traffic conditions, track bad guys, and to help cities analyze foot traffic throughout the day.
Lamp posts can be changed out to LED, which in the long run should save money. Solar panels can be put in, reducing the need for electric. Wind generators could be added, although a stretch, it can be done for energy. The city will have new sources for energy at each pole.
Underground – there is an opportunity to not only run fiber underground, but equipment can be mounted underground also. This is a new item I had the pleasure of discussing with a company called BrandBumps. They make an underground box that is suitable to mount equipment, like routers or small cells. Really a great idea. The equipment can stay dry and it does not look ugly. It’s underground. The only people that see it are the people that open up the box to see it. How cool is that? WOW!
Fiber should be thought of as an asset. I believe that it is going to be used by so many services to the pole. I think that the pole could be a main handoff for small cells and fixed wireless. So by putting fiber access at almost every pole the city should be covered. This will allow so many services to be deployed to each pole which could have wireless at each pole. Wireless is more than Wi-Fi, I will explain that later. Just remember that fiber is an asset, it is the key to internet and network access beyond the poles. It can be owned by anyone. Companies could own it or fiber companies or a carrier. If you have fiber and strands available, then someone will pay you to ride across it. Cities can regulate how much fiber is in or the utilities could regulate it or the fiber companies may have exclusivity to the poles and access. Just ask Google Fiber how hard it is to attach to a pole owned by the competition. Remember that the cable companies are also major players. They have a say, and if the competition, like Google fiber, wants to attach to a pole they will say NO to keep the competition out. It’s business folks. In Nashville pole attachment rears it’s ugly head, read about it https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/09/att-sues-nashville-in-bid-to-stall-google-fiber/ and http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/02/02/pole-position-we-found-out-exactly-where-google.html to see that the legal issue is very real.
Strands – that’s right, the strands that run from pole to pole along with some of the cable. Did you ever notice the cable companies started to put their Wi-Fi on the strands so that they would not have to mount to the poles? Do you know why? Permitting and zoning are almost nonexistent on the strand. They make strand mount radios with DOCSIS interface. The DOCSIS can provide power and backhaul to something like a low power Wi-Fi unit. It makes sense and it’s easy to deploy and all the cable companies are doing it. They also have the lowest spot on the poles, which is perfect for Wi-Fi and makes the strand mount easy and safe. It is well below the danger zone where power may be mounted. Don’t forget the strands that the traffic lights are hanging on! They too can be used in a wireless mounting situation as well as for cameras.
Lamps – Yes, they have lamps that have built-in Wi-Fi. Thank you LED lighting! They can put the Wi-Fi radio in with the lamp. The cities want everything to look nice, something the carriers didn’t pay attention to until recently. They want it to look nice and be quiet. The way it should be.
City Buildings – remember that the city has buildings all over. Why not use that as another asset to mount radios, lease to carriers, or maybe put public safety in the building. I know, you’re worried about the looks in these buildings, well stealth radios are a big issue, so make sure you set the rules up ahead of time.
Bus and Train stops – Here are assets that may already have power and maybe even backhaul that can be turned into a hotspot or add digital signs to advertise. It’s all there and can be added relatively quick.
Kiosks and billboards – here you have structures where you could add more digital video and Wi-Fi or even space to put radios in.
The foundations below do beautiful work, helping families in their time of need. Climbers often get seriously injured or die on the job. The foundations below support those families in their time of greatest need!
Hubble Foundation helps the families of climbers in a time of need!
Tower Family Foundation supports the families r tower climbers at the time of crisis when a climber falls.
You bombarded me with questions about 5G, like what is it, what’s special about it, and how will it be deployed. You also said you didn’t care about the technical details, just how to implement it and how to build the business plans. You kept asking, so I worked on this for over a year. Many of you want to learn about what’s possible with 5G in the real world.
Since you asked for it I put together a book that covers the 5G deployment of macro sites, small cells, LTE-U and even CRAN and c-RAN. It’s more than deployment but the business case because 5G will enable more people to deploy in the US than just the carriers! Spectrum availability in the USA will go far beyond the carriers. How? Find out! Learn more about 5G in the book, and it’s there waiting for you to learn more about it.
Introducing “The 5G Deployment Plan” to cover the 5G deployments from business case to execution.
Many books talk about 5G in a very technical manner or talk about what the carriers will do. You are probably wondering what you can do! Learn more in this book which is written for the business owners and deployment teams so that 5G can become a reality. I am sure many of you have read that 5G is the wave of the near future. It’s a new type of network. That’s right, instead of having the typical format associated with wireless systems, like LTE was with 4G, 5G encompasses so much more.
We need some guidance on the 5G wireless rollout plans. Business plans in this book may help you get started or give you ideas of how to move forward. The ideal situation is that we can use the existing systems, which we can.
There are so many questions around 5G technology, but you all are in deployment and want to know what systems to build. This book will help you align the deployment model with a great business case.
Questions like, “Can I build a private 5G system?” “What would it take to deploy 5G systems?” “What would the business case look like for a 5G system?” “How does 5G tie into IOT?” “Will LTE be part of 5G?”
The beauty of 5G is that it included so many networks. When LTE came out, we associated that with 4G Even though 4G included HetNets to make up one bigger network. HetNets include Wi-Fi and other formats that can work with LTE. One issue has been that LTE never could create a clean handoff to Wi-Fi.
Voice over Wi-Fi was starting to take off, and it worked great on a dedicated Wi-Fi system, but it still would not hand off to the carrier’s LTE system so well. It goes both ways, VoLTE would not hand off to Wi-Fi as clean as they had hoped.
Here is a document that will help you deploy 5G and understand what is involved as well. Giving a technical explanation and touching on the business needs to ensure you get the big picture.
It has not been easy. I have been studying 5G for the past year and a half. I thought it would make sense to put it all in a book for you to use a reference. I recorded what I could and captured it all on paper to make a reference for your teams to have all in one place covering the deployment from business case creation to delivery. You will have a text that will serve to help you design and build your 5G system.
You will become part of the 5G ecosystem by building your portion of the 5G HetNet. How cool is that?
Here is the table of contents to give you an idea of what’s included.
Contents
Who is this book for?
How to use this Book
Introduction
Why 5G?
What is 4G?
A quick history lesson.
The 4G network.
What is 5G?
Quick history recap
Will 5G replace LTE?
What Applications will 5G have?
What will the 5G be used for?
Why the Need for Speed?
Why the need for 5G Low Latency?
Why Narrow Bandwidth systems in 5G?
5G Network Slicing
4G and 5G Spectrum and Technologies
4G soon to be part of 5G Spectrum
TDD and FDD Formats
The Wireless Network outline.
The Evolved Core.
The RAN
Wireless Deployment Planning Overview
Pre-deployment Planning Overview
Planning and budgeting for deployment.
Start with the end in mind.
Put some thought into whom you are going to serve.
What is the service?
Break it down even more.
Inter-Network Connectivity
RAN Backhaul and Fronthaul Overview
Fiber connections:
When is fiber used/not used?
Microwave Connections:
When is Microwave used/not used?
What is LTE UE backhaul?
Resources:
RAN Site Components
BBU.
Radio.
Antennas and Jumpers.
The Mounting Structure and Hardware.
Battery backup.
Testing at the site for more than the equipment!
The 4G deployment plan
Types of Cell Sites
The BTS Installation.
The Radio Head Installation
Antenna Notes
LTE MIMO Deployment Notes
From 4G to 5G.
The 4G and 5G HetNet
What will 5G networks look like?
System Outline
What is the 5G System Plan?
What is the overall 5G plan?
The 5G System
Standard System
Base Station
Antennas and Radio Heads
How does MIMO work?
Deploying 5G Small Cells
Will 5G be a Success?
The 5G HetNet
The Cloud RAN
What is Edge and FOG Computing?
What is SDN and NFV?
What about Wi-Fi?
Cheap and Dirty
Carrier Grade
Who will win in 5G?
The Real 5G Winners Will have VISION!
Resources:
The 5G Business Case Foundation
What is your Business Case for Wireless Coverage?
Medical and Health Care
Utilities
Transportation
Rail or Bus
Highway
County and City Transportation
Air Travel
Unmanned Vehicles
Drones/plane
Automobiles
Boats
Emergency Responders
WISP
Small Carrier
IOT Systems
Enterprise
Business or Building Owner
Building Maintenance
Entertainment, Stadium, Large Venue
Smart City
Construction vehicles and sites
Renewable Energy
Gaming
Other – what will your business plan look like?
IOT
What is NB IOT and how will we use it?
What is NB-IOT?
Resources:
Glossary – Naming Overview (Abbreviations and Acronyms)
A Note from Wade
Other Books by Wade
Extras
More business plan sheets:
Other – Write your business plan.
Scope of Work Outlines Cover Sheet
Scope of Work Details
The end to end deployment will be more efficient as you learn more and do more deployments. You can learn more about LTE, Wi-Fi, and more. Think about the spectrum issues that are coming up, like mmwave, CBRS, and LTE-U. Think about what systems will be out there, indoor and outdoor, macro and small cell, broadband and narrowband. What about the end user’s equipment? It’s not just for smartphones anymore.
Now we have IOT coming out getting ready to connect millions of devices to the system. There isn’t just one system, as the network slicing chapter explains, it’s a collection of networks. What about the dedicated networks? You know, like the virtual reality networks for entertainment venues. You learn what is possible and what you can do. Just like your Wi-Fi system, the new 5G network will allow you to build smaller and affordable 5G wireless system that you control and manage. It’s not always easy, but you have the control, and the spectrum is becoming available to more than just the carriers. It’s a new age of communications.
As 5G progresses, we can open new wireless venues that we can control. The new devices will be adding more and more receivers for new spectrum. It’s all very exciting! You are one of the lucky ones to be involved in the future of communications which wireless frees all of us and opens new possibilities across all industries. Awesome!
Do you need some help getting started in the wireless deployment business? If you’re looking to work on macro sites or on small cells and DAS systems, then get some help here. This isn’t for everyone, just groups that are serious about wireless deployment. I will add my new book about deployment efficiencies to this package when it’s released later this year.
This bundle includes Wade4Wireless.com books about deployment and tower work. This should cover most of your wireless deployment needs for knowledge. I am here to help you get a head start and learn from my mistakes. See what works and how to protect yourself in the wireless deployment industry. Small Cells and DAS are really going to make a push so be prepared.
Update on fallen climber– For those of you that Didn’t hear, we lost a climber, 73-year-old Milt Jenson who fell 50 feet on an amateur tower doing volunteer work, I added some new links , the full story is here; https://wade4wireless.com/2016/06/10/man-dies-from-fall-at-mt-lemmon/ to see the updated links.
Now the Kenneth Cleveland story:
AT&T is showing that they care when people get injured, maliciously, while working for them. This week they offered a $60K reward for the suspicious death of Kenneth Cleveland while working in Waco. Per their press release, “AT&T is offering a $60,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Cleveland’s death. The company urges anyone with information to call Waco Police at 254-750-7589.” The official press release from AT&T can be found here.
Here is what I believe happened, from the stories, (all links are below for those of you who need more information), Kenneth Wayne Cleveland, a 61-year-old AT&T tech, was thought to have been electrocuted at a site, working alone apparently. That’s what police thought originally, but then the autopsy revealed that he died from violent injuries, according to the medical examiner. KPLCTV.com reports that Sgt. Patrick Swanton of the Waco police department said, “we realized there is something for us to question what happened. That’s what lead us to believe at this point that this is a murder case, not an accidental death.”
His body was found burning at the street when someone arrived. They are trying to find out what happened. It is so sad and something that we all need to band together to find out what’s going on. Help bring these people to justice if you know of anything.
OK, while this is nowhere near the $250K they offered for the fiber cuts back in September of 2015, story hereand here, it is still a great way to show they care.
Let’s be aware of what’s going on at the tower sites, this is a wake up call for all of you to be aware of who is around and what is going on at the sites. You need to take care of yourselves out there.
I remember one time when I went to a site there were 20 or so guys partying at a remote site in Summerdale, Pa, and the guys didn’t cause any problems, but I told them I was working on a state police radio, even though I wasn’t
Verizon’s Enterprise unit started a Value Added Distributor, VAD, program. Now, this has little to do with wireless at this time because it includes, “Verizon’s RRR service includes forensics, cyber incident assessments and designated security experts from Verizon who can go out to customer sites to conduct IT investigations 24/7.” Per the story at CRN.com found here.
Why do we care in wireless? I will tell you why I care! This is the type of program the carriers could setup for small cell deployments! Not outdoor, but the indoor small cell deployment. It’s funny because the wireless carriers want to expand indoor coverage but don’t want to pay for it. Customers want better and they are willing to pay for it. If a VAD could do it then they wouldn’t need to call Verizon and complain, instead they could call Verizon and ask for the nearest installation and integration team. Problems solved! I feel that the carriers demand complete control when this program would help them improve coverage for minimal costs.
Why is this so hard for all of the carriers to understand? I get it, plug and play on the small cells isn’t quite there yet, they may have problems with the neighbor list or cause self-interference or mess up a handoff. Well, figure it out, expand the network and have the customers pay for it. Honestly, what are you waiting for? T-Mobile already is giving away home small cells, why not let businesses install their own? They already paid for large DAS systems.
Think of how this would change the coverage, it would improve so quickly when a building owner would be able to install small cells to improve coverage for less than a full blow DAS system! I get it, do they?
T-Mobile made it clear that traditional DAS was too expensive, so here is the best cost-effective way to do it.
I know so many companies that want to sign up for this, and yet the carriers won’t offer it because they think that it may cause network problems. Well here is a model where they can control who the OEM is and provide a solution for their customers as well as bring more work to the contractors out there doing DAS and indoor coverage. It could expand into LTE-U and Wi-Fi. I see it as a game changer and a quick way to expand coverage as well as add customers. Let’s do this!
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!
What are you thinking? Let me know and I’ll sign you up for my newsletters.
Deploy with the Wireless Deployment Handbook eBook that covers professional carrier end to end deployment of LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS to show you the proper way to plan for deployment then execute without the mistakes.
I want to congratulate the people who got some accolades at the NATE Unite conference.
Jim Tracey of Legacy is not the new NATE Chairman.
Jim Miller of EasTex Tower is still Vice Chairman.
Kari Carlson of Tower Systems was reelected as NATE Secretary/Treasurer.
Video: https://youtu.be/lf5PofeKmzY Todd talks about the diversity of work that small cells and DAS have brought to the industry.
Video: https://youtu.be/UT-IJGNLzUI this is a full recording, (1 hour and 23 minutes), of the NWSA panel. For those of you living under a rock, the NWSA is the National Safety Wireless Alliance, which has a group of volunteers from the tower industry working to set standards for testing and certification in the tower industry that will include tower climbing skills, rigging, and tower work certifications that will be the standard across the industry. You will need to pass this certification to work in this industry someday. Credentials matter!
NATE is getting work done at this conference with the NWSA meetings. I know that they are doing more than that but I want to point out that the NWSA certifications are really going to change the industry. If you haven’t already spent time learning what it is about, now is the time! Again, to do work in this industry you will need to get certified through the NWSA program. For all of you that run crews, no more guessing if the person has the experience! Soon you can look at their NWSA certification verify it is real in a database. TIRAP is aligned with the NWSA certification, so the apprentice program will align with the industry standards for training. This is real change in this industry that will make a solid improvement across the tower industry. Resources will be tight at first, but when the certifications ramp up and the training improves, we will have a trained and solid workforce across the industry where this will be a career, not just a job.
I walked the floor, and if you want to see who was on the floor, look at the list, found here, to see who was there. There is a quick list here. I have to tell you, Ensahad a really cool booth where they had climbers on their tower all day, pretty cool! GMAhad a nice booth and it was big and busy, good job guys! I tried to talk to as many people as I could, no easy task.
I would like to thank all of you that came up to me and said hi. There were too many to name them all. Most of you I have talked to on Facebook, LinkedIn, or email. I want you all to stay in touch. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you thought of the conference. I gave most of you my card, but all of you that read this or listen to the podcast know that I can be reached atwade4wireless@gmail.com. Yes, I may be slow to get back to you, but you know I will if you send me something to talk about.
I know that I have been covering drones a lot this year, and I spent quite a bit of time with Matt of Unmanned Experts and a commercial pilot and a certified flight instructor, 970-231-5807, www.unmannedexperts.com, but you could see drones everywhere at the show. Matt was at the Tower Safety and Instruction booth,www.towersafety.com, where he is training drone pilots for them.
I spent some time at the Hazon booth, www.hazonsolutions.comwhere they had their new drone with a carbon fiber body on display, pretty cool. It was really light and sturdy. One of the main problems with drones is that they are delicate and break very easily. Not something you can ship, especially when the professionals spend over $100K on a drone. It ain’t cheap folks! They currently do some testing on towers but they have done so much work for the utility companies already.
To report an emergency, fatality, or imminent life threatening situation please contact our toll-free number immediately: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742)
I also got to spend some time with Lee Priest of Etak, www.etaksolutions.com, who showed me how they do 3D modeling of the tower by taking photos with the GPS metadata in them all around the tower to build a beautiful model that looks like the real tower but you can get the AGL of almost anything on the tower.
Best stickers of the show go to Rope and Rescue, www.ropeandrescue.com, where my friend Jacob Wallace gave me some stickers that he designed and made. Good job Jacob. To be honest he sent me some before and I want to thank him for sharing. Thanks Jacob!
I want to point something out that’s really cool, Comstar, http://www.comstarusa.org/, has a great training program that is geared to get you off on the right foot in this industry. I spent some time with Rick Ledford who has an amazing program. They have a 6 week accredited program that they vets can use the GI bill, it’s really quite impressive. What’s that, you want to work with fiber? Well they have a great program for fiber technician work. By the way, if you think you just spend time there and get your certificate, think again. You will need to pass a test to get the certification. Skaters fail, workers win!
However, what really caught my attention was the body cameras he is developing for the tower industry. I will tell you more after I interview Rick for this blog, but that is a teaser. I see it as innovative, it goes way beyond what GoPro can do!
OK, I gave you enough for today. I plan to tell you a lot more.
TLBB: Internet movies and more on this box! The Little Black Box for Streaming Media!
