Tag Archives: Carrier

What is the 5G Business Plan?

August 19, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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I have heard a lot about 5G and the roll out and how small cells will boom with 5G. Let’s look at the facts, if 5G is in the millimeter wave spectrum, then they will be very small and very line of site networks.

How is this going to work? Are the carriers really going to rely on 28GHz, (here in the USA), to cover much more that a building or a street? They are complaining about putting up small cells and CRAN because of the fiber and rental fees, and the slow payback! It’s catching on now and there is a better business plan, but will it be enough at 28GHz?

What I don’t’ get is that they are all doing amazing research and getting awesome speeds, but to me, someone who has done point to point (PTP) microwave, it is not a surprise. If you only have 2 or 3 users, of course you can get kick ass speeds in a high spectrum with lots of bandwidth that is not shared. At home, when I am the only one on my Wi-Fi hot spot, the cable modem is the bottleneck, not the Wi-Fi, however, when I am in an airport using the free Wi-Fi with 100 other people, I have no idea where the bottleneck is unless I can’t connect, then I am sure it is the Wi-Fi. It happens all the time.

So let’s look at the business model. Do you really see AT&T and Verizon building a network for 10 people? Let me put it to you this way, when you want to put a small cell in your building for 10 users, will AT&T or Verizon run out and give you one? I will tell you from experience, the answer is no, but they will let you buy one but it’s very small. Now, if I want to put something in for 100 users, will they do it. Again, the answer is no, and now because you want a bigger small cell or 2 of them, they won’t even talk to you because they are afraid of how it will affect the network. I get it, but now let’s think about how they will deploy 5G, will it really be for the mobile user? It doesn’t make sense to me.

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Now, let’s look at fixed wireless, here is an awesome application. One that you need LOS, (line of site), but you have the spectrum and the ability to put a small cell near people’s homes. This is where I see it as a great asset. This would be great and finally would give some wireless competition to the Cable modem.

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So for fixed wireless it looks like an awesome solution, but they have to make it work for the mobile device somehow.

The reason I am not so positive, because let’s look at path loss. At 200 meters there is a lot of free space loss here.

Frequency	Distance (Meters)	Tx Output (dB)	Rx Gain (dB)	Free Space Loss (dB)
600MHz	200	40	3	31.02
700MHz	200	40	3	32.68
1.9GHz	200	40	3	41.04
2.4GHz	200	40	3	43.06
2.5GHz	200	40	3	43.42
5.8GHz	200	40	3	50.73
24GHz	200	40	3	63.06
28GHz	200	40	3	64.4
38GHz	200	40	3	67.06
60GHz	200	40	3	71.02
70GHz	200	40	3	72.36

The reason I added the chart is to show the high loss you have at the higher bands. Now, while the number looks like it is double the loss, it is actually more than that. For every 3dB you lose 1.2 of your power, literally, lose half of your power.

Take a look at this chart showing power in Watts compared to power in dBm, pay attention! It helps put it into perspective. I like to look at watts because it is easy for the field engineer to see loss in power.

Power (dBm)	Power (W)
-30 dBm	0.0000010 W
-20 dBm	0.0000100 W
-10 dBm	0.0001000 W
0 dBm	0.0010000 W
1 dBm	0.0012589 W
2 dBm	0.0015849 W
3 dBm	0.0019953 W
6 dBm	0.0039811 W
9 dBm	0.0079433 W
10 dBm	0.0100000 W
20 dBm	0.1000000 W
30 dBm	1.0000000 W
40 dBm	10.0000000 W
50 dBm	100.0000000 W

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We need to understand what the application will be for 5G to be successful. Let’s face it, LTE would not have taken off without the demand for bandwidth. What caused demand for wireless bandwidth? You could say the laptop, but you know it’s really the smartphone, specifically the iPhone that changed the wireless world. Now we can’t live without it and even the president, (Obama) says it’s a necessity. Link is at the bottom so you know that I’m not making this up.

So how do we make money? The carriers will come up with something, but the mobility factors seems quite limited. The fixed wireless aspect makes a lot of sense to me, but if we can get 10Gbps to our mobile device, I am all for it, but who will pay for the backhaul? Latency is very important, so they have to bring the computing to the edge, NFV and SDN will be a huge part of 5G. The latency has to be low and then the bandwidth will not be as critical, right?

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Who will win in 5G?

We have all heard about 5G, the next big thing, for the carriers anyway. Will it really be all what we think it can be? Super high bandwidth with awesome applications? Who will win the 5G race?

The way I see it Verizon Wireless and AT&T will win, or at least be there first. They invested heavy, they are working to put out real standards, and they really want to win. This is something that the other carriers seem to be playing with but not taking as seriously. Sure, they all say they are working on 5G and I am sure they have something in a lab with high bandwidth in the 28GHz range, or somewhere up there, to test these applications. That way the investors are happy along and the public is impressed. I mean we all want to see virtual reality happen very soon from a wireless device, right?

Verizon seems to be working hard on the technical standards and the testing of the network.

AT&T seems to be finding ways to use it and testing it as well.

While I see that Sprint and T-Mobile are looking at it and testing in labs, they probably are in no hurry to lay out a lot of money just yet. They may wait to see what standard will be adopted then take the money they saved and use it to build a network, or expand what they have. I hope they are planning for this future. In all honesty T-Mobile is doing a great job of laying the ground work for high speeds while Sprint, well, Sprint doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything for the future.

Will 5G be a Failure?

So will it succeed? The issue that I see right now is not the technology, the loading, the multiple access, but really the spectrum. How far can millimeter waves go? How many connections can 28GHz or whatever band they’re in, can it serve? How large of an area can it really serve? We all look to small cells or CRAN to perform here, but will there be a payback. Can the carriers make a play for fixed wireless or will they try to capitalize on dense networks? Can they make the dense network business model work? Does it have to be a carrier to build this or can it be a smaller business who could tie back into another company’s core? Will they need a mobile core or can it start to replace fiber? Remember, there were so many microwave hops connecting broadband when fiber was not so readily available.

I don’t think that the question of 5G is fair, to be honest, its more like, “Will Millimeter Wave be a failure?” Isn’t that the big question here? The elephant in the room, so to speak. Can mm-wave perform the way that today’s spectrum does? Can it go beyond PTP?

The real winner will be the fiber backhaul companies, they will offer maximum bandwidth, chances are it will be dark fiber dedicated to the carriers, one more expense the carriers to look at before deployment. This will be the big cost just like now. Sorry cable companies, but the cable modem may not be able to service such a huge capacity. Fi they really do virtual reality, they will need to get to the edge for low latency and have a lot of bandwidth and the devices will need to maintain connectivity. Or will they?

What is the plan?

Maybe this is where the devices will need to take a step forward again, like the iPhone. Then the networks pushed LTE out so that high-speed data could get the devices reliable. Then devices added more and more memory to improve it once again. This is where the 5G miracle may happen. The devices will really need to make another quantum leap. The way I see it is that the networks will dump data fast in large chunks for high bandwidth applications and the device will need to capture and process that data. The app will rest in the device and the device must take the data and break it down. We are doing this now with applications in our smart phones and tablets, but they need to be the edge, they need to process it all quickly and they need to be able to connect and accept data quickly and efficiently all while processing it for the application.

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I really the think that the edge has to push farther out, so that the cloud will extend farther. I know they talk about fog computing, where the edge is at the end, this is what will really push the network. Hop after hop, so that the computing is done so close to the device that it may be in the device itself. Will there be awesome high-speed kick ass wireless devices that 10 other devices can connect to? I hope so. Will fixed wireless take over the world? I hope so. What are you hoping for, other than a bunch more work in deployment?

One thing that could hold it back is that the carriers do NOT want to replace their networks. They have LTE in as the foundation, they do not want to do another fork lift upgrade. They want to just keep making minor updates until it completely maxed out. They are counting on LTE to push them well past 2020. When we all see 5G released in 2020, it will be on the back of LTE, which technically is still 4G but by then it should be on serious steroids.

One other thing, the carriers do not want to give up their dominance. They intend to rule the wireless world well into 2030. So when the FCC has auctions, they will spend billions. Just look at how much spectrum AT&T is sitting on, you think they would roll it out soon.

Just a few ideas, but worth thinking about.

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So let me know what you think, email wade4wireless@gmail.com when you think of something to say!

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The Business of Sprint Densification

January 28, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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In the past 2 weeks we all are reading about Sprint. I have to tell you, it’s like a soap opera listening to these guys. Here is a company that appears to have real problems. They had an earnings call and the fact that they said “the sky is not falling” was such good news their stock went up. All this after a Re/Code blog post sent stocks downward, (American Tower, Crown Castle, and Sprint) by stating the plan of Sprint. The power of blogging when a blog post can send stocks spiraling down and make a mediocre earnings call look great.

So what am I talking about? Let’s review what was said on the call, what I hear from contractors and PMs, and all the articles out there. I include the articles so that you know I am not making this up.

First off, Sprint did gain subscribers and the churn is down. Good news, not great news, but it’s not bad but not as good as any of the competition and even past calls. I mean Sprint is offering ½ off anyone else’s contract price, but they expect to keep the people well after the contract is up. Good luck with that but if someone came to you because you’re cheap, do you think they will stay because they like you or do you think they will continue to be cheap? Let’s look at it this way, if Wal-Mart shoppers found a cheaper place to shop, would they continue to go to Wal-Mart? What do you think?

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Let’s talk more good news, Sprint is bragging about the fast network they have, article found here, where Nielson Mobile Performance states Sprint is faster than the other big carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. How is this so? Crowd source data says so, that’s how. So this is Sprints LTE download speeds according to crowd source information.

Then, how will Sprint improve the network? They have a plan that will do several things. First off, the densification with small cells and mini-macro sites will grow the network.

What is a macro mini or a mini macro? This could be either a single cell eNodeB, meaning just one BTS on a pole, probably with an Omni antenna but they would point it towards the area where they need the coverage. There are 2 ways to handle this so let me cover them both. It could be something like Nokia has, they are making an all in one station which is more like a large small cell, pretty awesome! This is an all in one unit. Or, the likely way Sprint will probably go because they don’t want to buy anything new, take an eNodeB that they already have in stock or from a macro site. They would deploy a single eNodeB with the smaller BBU cabinet about 5 feet off the ground and the radio head would probably be on the top of the pole. Then the antenna with the desired coverage. I believe that Sprint will go this way so that they can use what they have in stock and equipment they can rip off of existing macro sites to deploy. It seems they would rather pay the installers and integrators rather than buy new equipment. The site should have batteries so they may have to install a battery cable, which would be heavy and sit on the ground with about 4 hours of backup.

What about backhaul? Sprint does admit that they are going to get creative with the backhaul of the small cells and mini-macro sites. I read an article, found here, about how Sprint plans to use anything for backhaul. This makes sense to be and here is why. Microwave is one option, and with the removal of Clearwire they should have a ton of Dragonwave gear lying around. They can still use microwave on these poles, although it’s more to install and if they pay normal rent that would cost more, it has very little maintenance cost compared to the monthly recurring OpEx you have with fiber. It would make sense in the long run but you can’t throw in anywhere. You need to have line of site or at least near line of site to connect the sites. Then you need to go to a site that has fiber backhaul. As you add more sites going back to the fiber site you need to add capacity back to the core. Mr. John Saw also mentioned the 2.5GHz UE Relay for backhaul. This is cheap and easy to install and the small cells may come with the UE Relay box already installed. This is cheap and easy to install but the sites they go to need to have the added capacity. The other drawback is growth. If the small cell gets loaded then the UE backhaul may limit the backhaul speeds. Also, you need to dedicate that valuable spectrum of 2.5GHz for backhaul. So while it’s pretty cheap up front, it has a huge downside in the long run using the 2.5GHz spectrum, but I get it, Sprint is doing this build as cheap as possible.

Did you really think I wouldn’t talk about the reallocation of sites from the towers to the poles? I read an article by Ken Schmidt, found here on LinkedIn, that helps to clarify that Sprint can’t move from the towers overnight. Instead, I see them doing the densification where they build out the poles for a lot less rent. How will they save money doing this? Well, if it was one to one it would make sense. But you have to figure that it takes about 30 small cells or mini macros to cover what one full-blown macro site would do. So leaving macro altogether would be like deploying a Wi-Fi only system with spot coverage, not a reliable mobile network. It will take a HetNet to become a reliable network. Now, they are using Mobilitie to roll out and this makes sense because they are doing all that they can to bypass the tower companies. They are also doing the best that they can to use Right-of-Way, RoW, to save money. Let me explain RoW, if you can have Right-of-Way access on a pole you can install it for very little rent annually, even lower than going on a pole with the utility which is much lower than going with a traditional tower site owner. RoW is not free, you need to apply for permits and install a new pole and run power and figure out backhaul and pay for the installation. Make sure the neighbors are happy! Neighbors include not only the residents and businesses nearby but the city or municipality that will need to live with this new pole. Make sure it runs quietly and look beautiful. Everyone is looking and the locals are listening. San Francisco did a good job explaining this here. They would also like to install in light poles because that would be where the people are at, in malls, strip malls, arenas, etc. To see more on this here is a good explanation.

Something to think about, to put in a mini macro you would probably want height to get above clutter, maybe over 80 feet high. The reality is that most cities and municipalities will not allow this due to pole height restrictions, especially in RoW locations. So that could be a major problem with the RF design.

What about the network support? Currently Ericsson Management Services (EMS) handles this. Their contract will be up some time this year. They already have the RFP out there for a replacement but it is not clear who will win. My bet is the lowest bidder. If Sprint goes with someone new there will be a transitional period and they may need to retain some of the Ericsson people that can help guide the transition to make it painless.

Did I mention that they are almost done with the layoff of 2,500 (mostly customer care) people? According to them this is 7% of the workforce, and then they plan to hire back 1,300 people, guessing about 4% of the workforce, mostly RF engineers and sales people. This will save money, lose the customer service people and gain some sales and engineering talent. I find this interesting but it’s a well needed shift ion talent. Sprints engineers are really overworked. I also think that Sprint knows that if the sales people don’t sell then they will be replaced quickly. They are saving money doing this.

I know that everyone is looking not only at Sprint but also at Softbank for what they are doing. Let’s face it, they are really running the show for the network expansion based on what they learned in Japan. Is this innovation or insanity? We will see, but I have to admit, it’s really shaking up the industry. We need to shake up the industry once in a while. I thought that the deceased LightSquared might do that but they just went away, so sad. Will there be innovation with FirstNet? Maybe if Rivada can build the network but if the carriers win the bid it will just be another expansion, no innovation.

I have been talking to some contractors and Sprint is still doing some 2.5GHz growth, it is not dead. Mobilitie is handling the densification project. They are learning along the way but they have some very qualified people. As long as they can focus and be willing to pivot then they should do fine. They have already started. The one thing they need to very aware of is the permitting and planning done by the cities will change as they do the build. Trust me, the larger cities are keeping a close eye on the deployment so that they can learn and adjust the rules quickly to avoid problems in their city. They have already learned from the ExtaNet and Crown Castle deployments. This could be something that Mobilitie should look at and learn from.

I wish Sprint the best of luck. They are really shaking up the industry. They gave me a lot to talk about. Thank you Sprint, we all have so much to write about and talk about!

Last thing, there was an article that there is still Huawei gear in the Sprint network. Let’s clarify, it’s on the Clearwire network. Sprint is trying to take down the Clearwire network but they can’t because there is a court order making them keep it up in some areas.

If you’re interested in why some see this as network suicide, read Iain Gillott’s article in RCR, found here, and he lays it out step by step.

Earnings call recorded here and transcript here.

My last Sprint post is here.

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FirstNet RFP, Deploy if you Dare!

January 21, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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The FirstNet RFP was released! Can you believe it? I started working on this back in 2011 making material for the pending RFP, and here it is in 2016. I was so excited until I looked at all of the documentation, wow! There is so much. However, I am not going to break it all down, I just want to give a high level view of what it will mean to the deployment teams. Deployment will not happen until 2017, installations mid to late 2017, but when it does, there will be plenty of work.

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So, what does this mean to the wireless deployment community? Well, almost nothing until 2017. Let’s face it, to go through this it will take some time. FirstNet expects their responses to come in April where they will need to review it and see who can do it. Unless you work on the RFP response, 2016 won’t mean much to you. The way the RFP is written, it may not matter anyway.

Who can do it? It will take a carrier. It will not happen too quickly even though they want it too. I see AT&T having the best shot at doing this. I think Verizon would be a great competitor but I get the feeling they’re not interested mainly because they always answer with “No comment” when asked. Either they are still deciding or they don’t’ want to.

One thing that will hold back integrators is the penalty they will get if public safety does not subscribe, Donny Jackson wrote an article here. Isn’t government great when they want a sustainable system? They can just say that you have to pay them or don’t bid. That will hold back integrators because FirstNet is really looking for carriers, not integrators. In fact, it could even hold back the carriers. They already have working models without the potential penalties. FirstNet is doing all that they can to hold back the number of bidders. I am reading through the RFP, but I didn’t see this section just yet but I do see the minimum payments part. Maybe I missed it but I was more concerned with the actual equipment and services. If this is the case, why would anyone take this on? Even AT&T has to think it might not be worth it unless they see value in the spectrum. Is AT&T is willing to pay this as a fee to get more spectrum, after all, FirstNet can’t sell it. Will AT&T set up a public safety sales division to sell to public safety groups nationwide? It may become more of a headache than an asset but they may do it for the additional spectrum.

T-Mobile might do this for spectrum as well, but will they tackle something like this? Probably not. They may not want to deal with the extra work or the potential for bad press or the penalties. It probably isn’t on their roadmap unless they really, really want the spectrum.

I don’t see Sprint doing it. They are a mess and need to worry about their own system before they deploy another system.

It looks like FirstNet really pigeon holed this RFP towards carriers, nationwide carriers who already have a system built and running. All the anticipation in the industry and now it looks like no integrator would want to touch it with these crazy penalties. However, I guess you can sell your own devices on this spectrum and that may be a source of revenue. If you can’t get the public safety groups to go on it then it may be an additional way to load the network. They will like it until there is an emergency and the spectrum is pulled away from the consumer for emergency responders, but if no public safety group is on it then why bother?

Selling public safety is more than just providing a great deal, it also has to do with politics. Some groups may sign up to support the network and others may not just because they don’t believe in it. It’s not like the carrier market where you do have loyalty, but mostly people sign up for coverage and price, maybe to get a cool phone but you can put almost any phone on any network in today’s world.

Now, the deployment scenarios.

Timeline – with the RFP being released in January of 2016 and being due in April, there may be an extension so let’s say May. Then FirstNet need to evaluate the responses, which it may only be AT&T. If there are a lot of responses then it may take the rest of the year. Once they pick a winner then the negotiations and final contract talks need to be completed. Then the deployment will happen. I say 2017 with RF design and site acquisition then site design, structural engineering, and then installation, commissioning, integration and finally optimization. If it’s an AT&T then it will be treated as an expansion or system growth, not really a new deployment. Installation probably happening mid to late 2017, all the way through 2019.

A new carrier with a system integrator – this would be where a new carrier would partner with a Harris or Motorola. If they got it then there would be many RFPs coming out to expand. First they would need to work with an OEM to deploy. The RFP is so much more than that, but let’s just concentrate on deployment. They would need to secure tower space, create a massive RF design, then site design, then deploy. I don’t know what the deployment strategy would be but it would be a lot of work and the equipment may not be ready until mid to late 2017 to be mounted. Antennas, cables, and eNodeBs would all need to be ordered which they may have something or they may not. It would be close to what Verizon has to maybe it would not take so long to develop. Maybe 6 months. Then the installation could begin. Logistics would be a major factor. Get ready for RFPs out the wazoo if that happens.

It’s too bad that LightSquared is in dire straits because this would be a good play for them or a start-up if they can sell their own products on this system and FirstNet would pay them to do it.

Carrier – If a carrier wins, like T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T, then I would imagine they would treat it like an expansion and try to deploy it along with whatever else they have to deploy. The only problem they have would be reporting progress back to FirstNet on a regular basis. The deployment teams would again probably not start until mid to late 2017 because of the design and the equipment details. You see, AT&T has to worry about the existing leases so they need to decide if they can get a new radio head and antenna or if they have to add new sectors altogether. I would think they could expand but the leases have to go through before they can do much of anything. The sad part of this is that AT&T will go back to the turf model, so they will need to be sure that all the climbers are certified and safe. It will be a challenge because this is a federal project so they will be deploying under a microscope.

For the deployment teams, more work! RF Design will be needed. For tower leasing companies, it should mean a lot more revenue! For site design and structural engineers, so much more work! You all have the upfront work to do so the installation and integration teams can get to work. Then the optimization will happen. This should be over 3 years of macro deployments nationwide. It all depends on who you’re already aligned with.

If you’re thinking about small cells and DAS, I would think any of that would happen until late 2018, unless AT&T wins, then it may happen sooner. FirstNet will need better coverage, so the indoor coverage will matter at some point. To achieve this they will need small cells all around, inside and out. I see this as a huge boost for the small cell deployments. Unfortunately it won’t happen until 2018 at the earliest, 2019 is more likely.

So get out there and deploy America! Deploy for your country to finally have a nationwide broadband network so that they can watch everyone on live video feeds at will! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I see big brother watching, but who has time to watch everyone, seriously, who? This network will help public safety teams do so much more. The police will have live video available to track bad guys. Fire and Ambulance can use it to send medical data back and forth so they can treat someone live in the field and on the way to the hospital to save lives. The game commission can use it so that I can watch the eagles in their nest, like this one in Pa. I can’t wait. Just as long as the government doesn’t mandate cat videos on YouTube, then I am good.

Just think if we could see the first responders in real-time with their body camera video, how cool would that be? At least the 911 dispatch could get a glimpse of what’s happening real-time so they could call for back up or medical if needed. Really, that’s a game changer.

By the way, all of this has been done so far with the FCC spectrum auction money, not tax dollars. I hope they can sustain it without tax dollars, but only time will tell. They put penalties in there because they thought the spectrum was so valuable that people would live with it, will they? Time for a reality check! The response to the RFP will tell the tale.

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To see the FirstNet RFP, go to http://firstnet.gov/ to learn more and download it here, https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=7806696f4340f16474647ccc57805040&_cview=0 and they had a webinar, the slides are available here, http://www.firstnet.gov/sites/default/files/Jan-15%20FirstNet%20RFP%20Webinar%20Presentation_0.pdf in PDF format.

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Will Sprint Shine or Fade?

January 18, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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I believe most of you see that Sprint has been an interesting story, but the real question is will they shine or fade. Sprint has made a lot of moves only to see their subscriber base shrink. They have done a so-so job marketing and their network has some ups but mostly remains the same. They have made it clear that they only want to grow if someone else pays for it and that they don’t want to spend any money if possible.

So what is Sprint’s next move? Well, there are several, let’s cover the ones that concern the company’s network.

What about the network? That’s what I am interested in. Sprint’s optimization effort really seems to be paying off. They have been making inroads by improving their Rootmetrics scores. For instance, in Austin they were #1 in download speed and tied for #1 in performance, reliability, and calls, per this article. That’s not all. They also got #1 in DC for call performance and network reliability. So Sprint is improving their network as they wind down their optimization effort this year. Now they should start growing their network. It seems like they have trouble doing both.

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So Sprint has handed over the densification project to Mobilitie, who has started growing the network. It appears that they already started with applications being filed in Salem City, Ma, found here. Mobilitie is taking on the task of building and financing the network for Sprint. What a deal for Sprint. I hope Mobilitie has good financing, which I am sure they do. So it appears that Sprint will finally move ahead growing their network. They are finding ways to do it without supporting any of the traditional players in the ecosystem.

How will they do this? Two things come to mind. Sprint announced that they plan to cut over $1B from the budget by running away from tower companies. They really want to get out of their leases with American Tower and Crown Castle, according to this article in ReCode, they intend to get out of those leases and find a cheaper way to do this. Well, let’s look at this, chances are good that they signed long-term leases with this guys so they will have to wait until the lease is up to make a cost-effective move. I know that American Tower leases are tough and binding so Sprint would pay now or pay later, so why be in a hurry. Also, to move will cost money, so will they really move? Does that make sense? It would in the long haul of they can save enough money on the monthly recurring, the OpEx would really go down. However, I think that Sprint is too savvy for that, I think they will let the densification happen on Mobilitie’s dime then start to decommission the macro sites where they can. For one thing, if you talk to anyone at Sprint you realize they have no money to spend except on hiring presidents. The infrastructure needs to limp along for a while longer. So I don’t see any reason for ATC or CC to worry about this immediately.

What else does ReCode bring up? The expensive and horrible contracts that Sprint is in for backhaul. They mention how Sprint is relying on AT&T and Verizon for fiber connections, most of which are probably antiquated anyway. According to the article they spend over $1Billion a year on this. Now, they plan to use microwave again, back to the future? Microwave was quite common but let’s look at this. They still need fiber at the sites to get it back to the core, right? Sprint also should look at expansion, will they pick a microwave vendor that can grow with them? It’s not necessarily the vendor’s limitations. They need to pay more to rent extra space on the tower to add the dishes, they need to make sure that the licensed spectrum is enough for 100Mbps or more of backhaul. Then, the site they are sending it to has to expand to support multiple sites instead of just one. All of this and there needs to be line of site for the link to work properly. Sure, you could go NLOS, near line of site or no line of site technology, but it may not give you the bandwidth you really want from a site. Their maintenance costs might be higher because if they have weather related issues it will mean more dispatches. It will still be cheaper than paying the monthly OpEx for fiber. They have to really think it through, but they have really smart engineers, I am sure that they are very confident that all the pieces will fall into place, right?

So, you may have asked about using in-band for backhaul. I know that this is a major thing with the small cells and mini macro sites because Sprint put it in their RFPs. This is something that Sprint has expressed an interest in using their licensed 2.5GHz spectrum for backhaul. They have plenty of it but will they do this today and stunt the growth for tomorrow? I find it interesting that a company whose CFO said that the chunks of 600MHz spectrum are not enough, article found here, would use the 2.5GHz spectrum for backhaul. It doesn’t make sense to me because he won’t participate in the 600MHz auction because it’s not enough spectrum. They decide not to get some spectrum, in these days of aggregation, and opt for no spectrum. No wonder John LeGere makes fun of these guys. Sprint has plenty of 2.5GHz spectrum to grow but they are slowly rolling it out. They also appear to keep the 3G network up and running for voice for some time while all the other carriers are moving to VoLTE to sunset 3G. On the bright side Sprint should be able to buy used 3G equipment to maintain their system for voice.

They need to be aligned. Marcello Claure has been hiring regional presidents. Very regional and specific, like Johan Chung for Northern California and Nevada, Jim Mills for Illinois and Wisconsin, Conrad Hunter for New England region, and Karen Paletta for New York and Philly Tri-State regions. For more go to their Newsroom site here. Will this pay off? How will they structure this? They have technical VPs that run each region so will these presidents run everything or just sales and marketing? Will they put all of the technical personnel under the same umbrella? I doubt it but I find it interesting to have a president of the South, Jaime Jones, and then a specific president of Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, Brian S Miller. That’s a lot of presidents. So if a customer wants to speak to the president, the Sprint rep can say, which one?

So, will Sprint survive or should they merge with T-Mobile? Maybe a cable company (Comcast) should take them over. It would make sense and they definitely need to grow but the heavy debt load that Sprint has really makes them an ugly target, what a shame. One thing I have learned over the past several months is that Sprint appears to be in trouble, financially. They appear to be bleeding subscribers but I think that’s because T-Mobile is growing their network and aggressively rolling out and their marketing campaign is changing the industry. Good for T-Mobile.

How did Sprint get here, I really don’t know, but if you call PNC Bank maybe they will connect you to Dan Hesse who sits on the board there now, maybe he has some answers.

It takes money and a good plan to run a network like this. It is not an easy thing. There are 3 carriers who appear to be doing it right and one who consistently struggles, why is that? I hope that Marcelo Claure and Softbank can turn Sprint around. It may be painful and maybe they can be disrupting enough to be a game changer. We’ll see.

I really want Sprint to succeed and become healthy again, sooner than later, but they really need to start moving in a positive direction soon. Maybe they already are and I just don’t see it.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

How to Finance DAS Systems

December 28, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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What if I gave you a way to remove an obstacle in deploying DAS systems? When selling DAS, usually the price can be in the way, even though you offer your best price, you may need a way to help the customer pay for it. Maybe this will help you move ahead in your next DAS deployment. You all know that the carriers are not crazy about smaller shared DAS venues any more. T-Mobile made this very clear with their recent statements that they don’t want to pay for DAS systems. They are tired of paying for these systems and getting a limited return. They are not alone because Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint were already headed in that direction. Small cells are going to help drive the cost of DAS systems down and now that LTE is taking over, the new systems will be all digital. It also looks like they will be a mix of Wi-Fi and LTE-U. Here is a way to help the enterprise and real estate companies pay for the systems.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells!

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Before you start to panic, the large venues, like stadiums, will continue to be paid for by the carriers using a combination of LTE and Wi-Fi for content delivery. As you know everyone is using their phones and tablets to see the replays and the extended coverage at these games. The NFL gets it because they offer enhanced services in most stadiums for the people who pay to see these games. They want you to appreciate the game by seeing it live and seeing every possible angle on your device. That is really cool!

Back to the smaller venues. I just watched a presentation that Iain Gillott of IGR put together to show that most users of smart phone rely on it indoors. I would say in an enterprise environment. He sells the report here if you’re interested. This is a growing area of concern but the carriers no longer want to pay for any DAS systems. So the business or building owner will need to pick a carrier and then install. Now Wi-Fi makes it easy, if you install Wi-Fi then you offer them a data solution. But what if they need to make a call or if there is an emergency and 911 becomes an issue. If there is no voice coverage in the building then the problems compound. Many work places no longer rely on landlines, so the wireless coverage is crucial!

Voice still matters! If someone collapses do you text someone for help? Just like public safety coverage in large buildings. The first responders need to stay in touch with their crews on every floor, whether it’s the roof or the basement, everywhere in between is a critical area when there is an emergency. Lately there have been many emergencies here in the US such as fires, bombings, and shootings. What about a medical emergency? If you have a heart attack you want to make sure they can do what they can on the scene so you are stable for the ride to the hospital. That’s how I see it. First responders need to have seamless coverage.

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So I see the need for DAS and not just for the carriers but for public safety’s first responders. This is becoming a requirement in most cities. I am sure that building owners will push back because of the additional cost, but when someone dies in their building they may see the need. I have an example of an ordinance for Riverside, California, which has requirements for public safety radio coverage in buildings of excess of 50,000 square feet here. City of Irvine, Ca, here. Seattle, Washington, here.

First off, I would recommend that the carriers let go of their hold on the front end, it could be a small cell or the BTS, I wrote about it here, but they need to come up with a system to allow DAS to get installed so they stop being the bottle neck of the process. They say that they don’t want to pay then they won’t let anyone else install the system. Well, which is it Verizon and AT&T? Make up your mind to let the public do this so they can help your coverage. Public safety groups are so happy when someone offers to put in a system for them. They don’t push back, they say thank you!

This is where Sentry Financial can help. They will finance the DAS system for creditworthy customers so that the installers and vendors get paid. Then the owner can make reasonable payments over time and it will be a write off for them all the same. See the win-win? The vendors all get paid, the building or business owner meets the requirements without all the upfront costs.

I had a conversation with Jenn Faber (jfaber@sentryfinancial.com ) of Sentry Financial Corporation, the director of business development, about financing these systems. I am interested because I plan to work with small cell and DAS side of the industry more and more. This is a segment that is booming. We just have to come up with ways to make it affordable.

So Jenn told me that financing is a great option for the larger DAS systems going in, why? Because it provides a model where the financing is taken care of ahead of time. Here are some questions I asked her.

What DAS systems would you finance?
1. All DAS systems for creditworthy end users. Financing may include passive or active equipment as well as design and installation.
Who would finance these systems? Would it be enterprise, building owners, government entities, utilities, small to medium businesses, installers, or who?
1. We will provide lease financing to all creditworthy end-users including enterprise, building owners, utilities and middle market companies (e.g., revenues >$50M and positive net income last 3 years, tangible net worth, and audited financials).
What price range would the DAS system be in?
1. Minimum project cost of $250,000, no maximum if the end-user’s credit supports the transaction.
What OEM do you see deployed the most often?
1. Primarily SOLiD, CommScope, TE Connectivity (now part of CommScope), Corning, and JMA in DAS.
Do you have a requirement for the integrators doing the DAS installation?
1. We typically work through the OEM or integrator partner and rely on their expertise for the installation. Nevertheless, the integrators must be experienced and reputable.
When financing, what would the payment terms be like for time, like 5 or 10 years?
1. For DAS the lease term generally ranges from 36 to 60 months depending on the business accounting, tax, and other objectives of the end-user. At the end of the lease term, the end-user had the option to: purchase the system, upgrade the system, or extend the lease term.
Do you work mostly with the DAS contractors or the end-user when finding the business?
1. We typically work through an OEM or integrator partner (DAS contractor) to enable them to offer the lease financing solution to the end-user customer. We have also worked directly with the end-user.
How would a potential customer go about getting financing with your group?
1. An OEM, integrator, or end-user may contact Sentry directly, information below. Sentry typically starts with a high level overview of the project, project costs, and financials of the end-user (3 full years and most recent interim financials). If the end-user is a public company, we can get their financials online. The creditworthiness of the end-user must support the transaction.

So there you have it, all you need to know about financing a DAS system. This is one more way you can deliver DAS to your customer, one less obstacle that the integrators have to contend with.

For more information about Sentry Financial Group contact the people below.

Jennifer Faber

Director, Business Development

(801) 303-1113

Bo White

Director, Business Development

(801) 303-1137

Scott Young

Chief Executive Officer

(801) 303-1111

So remember that wireless deployment will have challenges but here is a way for you to remove one of them.

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Sprint versus T-Mobile

December 7, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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If anyone is following the battle for #3 you see that T-Mobile got the position. Can they hold it? Who is going to make the long-term difference? Let me tell you what I see from a deployment stance.

Don’t get me wrong, the marketing plays a big part. I think that Marcelo Claure of Sprint and John Legere of T-Mobile are geniuses at marketing, although I think Legere has the edge. They both see to be able to build marketing programs that reach out to the smartphone user. The difference I see is that Sprint’s message is “we are cheap and will give you a cheap plan” versus T-Mobile who says “We have a reasonable plan with free video and our LTE coverage is great”. I think we all see the difference but in the end the customer wants a working system for a reasonable price.

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Business wise T-Mobile seems stronger at this moment in time. T-Mobile wins here if we just look at the stock price, When I wrote this, Sunday December 6, 2015, T-Mobile came in at $35.45 versus Sprint at $3.53. It is obvious that we hear about all the problems at Sprint and all the cool stuff T-Mobile is doing that T-Mobile is moving up while Sprint seems to be standing still. Some would say Sprint is moving backwards, which, in this industry is what happens when you stand still. Let’s move on shall we?

So from a deployment stance I see that Sprint has built, ever so slowly, very little out this year. They are expanding their 2.5GHz footprint at a snail’s pace. The good news is that they have been optimizing what they have to the point that they really are improving the network coverage. From what I hear they are actually making improvements and pushing the LTE that they have built. In my opinion it is too slow.

T-Mobile on the other hand is aggressively building out with an impressive steady build plan that will improve their densification in major population areas. I am really impressed by what they are doing and the move to VoLTE. WOW! This is impressive to me and it shows that T-Mobile is not only committed to changing the industry by becoming the anti-carrier and plans but they are really improving their network. They seem to be boosting the network by leaps and bounds.

WDH = Wireless Deployment Handbook , end to end deployment.

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So when I look at the 2 competitors I see T-Mobile actually making a real difference in the network and growth. Meanwhile Sprint seems to be falling farther and farther behind. I know that we all expect them to do something big in 2016, but will it be enough or will it be too little too late. I will give Sprint and Softbank for the most creative financing. That deal they pulled off to get $1.1B of cash was amazing. WOW! Then they will be cutting out $2.5B of costs by cutting the workforce, meaning huge layoffs. Then they have to deploy the network they promised in their densification plan. Then they will have Mobilitie finance most of it for them. So will Sprint become a shell where the network is owned by Mobilitie and the devices will be owned by Mobile Leasing Solutions. So Sprint is finding a way to deploy a network and sell devices with little financial outlay. Let’s hope they can stay afloat long enough to make it happen.

T-Mobile on the other hand has been making investments that really look great from a system perspective. They have all the marketing savvy but they have the network to back it up. The video offering they have now is really impressive and the fact they have the vision to go complete LTE, for data and voice, is amazing. The way they offered VoWiFi before any other carrier did was awesome. They are pushing all the other carriers into a position they weren’t ready for yet. They seem to have an impressive vision for their future.

The funny thing is that Sprint has all the 2.5GHz spectrum that any other carrier would love to have, but they are moving so slowly because they apparently don’t’ have the money to do anything with it. They have a plan to densify, but they have been putting all of their vendors through the ringer and trying to cut the prices down to the point where most deployment teams wont’ want to work with them. I know that I have talked to many people who have participated in several RFPs that it is hard to take Sprint seriously any more. They have personally made so many vendors back down and say “don’t call us until you’re serious”. Do you remember when the rumor was that they were going to deploy over 70,000 small cells, then it was mini macros, for the densification program. What has been done since then? Not much. They seem to be slowly adding 2.5GHz to the towers, which really is an extension of the Network Vision plan. Sprint has such potential but they can’t seem to get out of their own way. All the money seems to be going somewhere, but where? I mean, I don’t see it going into the network, do you? They are cutting an already overworked workforce. They just don’t seem to be a company that the vendors I have talked to really want to work with anymore. The best thing they could do it allow the vendors to deploy the small cells and DAS systems for them. “Free the Indoor Small Cells”. They could allow them to deploy the system for them. It would just take building a process then they could get out-of-the-way, just wishful thinking on my part.

From what I see, T-Mobile is making all the right moves to win this war. I think that they are positioning themselves to push AT&T and Verizon. They might not win on coverage but they can give them a run for their money. While coverage is an issue, they have a good overall plan and they are sending a consistent message. Meanwhile, Sprint seems to be sending a message that they are the cheap guy and the margins are bleeding for it. But hey, what do I know, I just want to see all the deployment teams busy again.

I am reading “Lessons in Life and Business” by Elon Musk and he has a quote that I think would apply here. “Focus on signal over noise. A lot of companies get confused. They spend money on things that don’t actually make the product better.”

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Free the LTE Indoor Small Cells!

November 19, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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Attention carriers, free the indoor LTE indoor small cells so that they can be deployed with iDAS! This is specifically for the enterprise and building coverage, since you already freed the small femto cells. You are the ones holding the industry back, not the other way around. You say you don’t want to pay for iDAS, but how can anyone else when you control the small cell? Small Cells can be deployed for home office, let’s free them up for the enterprise! Why? Let me tell you why.

The carriers say they don’t want to pay for indoor DAS but indoor small cells are part of that system, aren’t they? The carriers control the release of larger small cells, well any eNodeB for that matter. The VARs, (Value Added Resellers) want to sell and install these systems for large enterprise but they need to work through the carriers, maybe even to purchase the equipment from the carriers. If carriers want to save on these costs, then set up a system to approve the small cells and low power BTS for DAS systems so you can hand it off to someone who can sell it to the building or business owner. Again, I mean that the indoor small cells are so controlled by the carriers that they can’t be deployed by anyone else. It’s like a small cell hell!

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Who agrees with this? I listened to the RCR interview that Sean Kinney did with Jonathon Adelstein, the CEO of PCIA, and he appears to feel the same way. He thinks that the carriers should not be held responsible for a utility like broadband. He was actually talking about DAS, specifically iDAS, but he has to know that small cells are part of the new DAS systems, right? This guy of all people should understand this. Digital DAS, LTE DAS, get it? Small cells play a part. So it appears that PCIA is all in, but the carriers want the installs to be paid for by others and yet they won’t let go of the control! Well, which is it? It’s going to be hard for you to hand off the DAS without the indoor small cell. Get your head out of your butt and wake up! Make the change today! This is LTE; analog BDAs are not going to cut it anymore!

Let’s build a better model like the femto cell, for instance, homes and small offices are able to have anyone install the femto cell. Let me explain this model. You may have heard that T-Mobile is handing the CellSpot femto cell out to customers for free. This will help build a coverage model similar to what Comcast did with Xfinity Wi-Fi, hand out hotspots, (Cable modem or femto cell), and put your default ESSID on a Wi-Fi hotspot and then all of you customers can use it. It is a complete plug and play device, one that most carriers offer home users at some point, even with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi calling may change this, but T-Mobile made it sexy and smart. They get expanded coverage for the price of a box and shipping.

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I believe that SpiderCloud is building this model for their small cells. They know that the carrier does not want to deploy indoor small cells everywhere, but the carriers have to build a better process. So why not do this for all businesses that want iDAS and indoor small cells? Let a contractor handle it! An approved contractor (of course) installing an approved unit.

As for carriers, I believe that T-Mobile is handing out the femto cells, but not anything larger. I think AT&T was going to set up something that would have them hand them, (sell them) to end users that wanted to install them. I didn’t hear of anything like this from Verizon. I know that the technology is catching up but I think that if they would allow the approved contractor to buy them, preferable from the OEM to save money unless the carrier would be able to get them really cheap, the contractor could do the rest. Building out the network for the carrier.

How should carriers do it? Build a process where the vendor gets certified by the OEM and the carrier. Then the carriers will vette the vendor for being a real business and take a look at their safety programs. Then let the vendor sell to the enterprise and landlords! It’s that simple carriers, get out-of-the-way. Don’t worry about the vendor making you look bad because I know you can set up a feedback system so that the end customer can grade the vendor. Help them improve or boot them out. Build the process today.

Now, on the network and equipment side, you need to do several things. You need 1) Plug and Play, 2) an auto-config neighbor list, 3) power control, 4) get certified VARs to call the integration center, and 5) monitor PCMD data. Then you can let the VAR build your system and improve your coverage! Am I making any sense yet?

Readers, I know that many of you are blaming the OEM, right? But the reality is that the carriers have a firm grip on the small cell since it connects to the network.

Free the small cells to the vendors and let the network grow organically. Increase the pipe with little or no expense! Put the growth on auto pilot for heaven’s sake!

In case you wonder why carriers control deployments, look at the reasons below:

Approvals: The OEM has a lot of work with the carrier prior to even being allowed on the network. You see, to get on the carrier’s network you need to put all small cells through lab tests, minimum 3 months, to make sure they are certified and won’t take down a site, cluster or harm the network. Anyone who is working on the OEM side of small cells understands that this takes a lot of time, energy, money, and lab support. It doesn’t happen overnight, in fact, if it happens in 3 months you’re doing incredibly well.
Integration: Another thing is the current commissioning and integration of a cell onto the network. It usually needs to be planned. It is still not automated except small femto cells used for home and SOHO, (Small Office Home Office). The reason being is the core. You have several locations that the cell could connect with, and it may be different for each region. There is not an easy way for it to locate the core that it should be talking to. So they either preconfigure the cell or they do it on site. This seems to be tedious but in my opinion, the process should be automated.
Optimization: Finally, the ever so important neighbor list. This is the list of neighboring sites that the cell could interfere with and hand off. They want a clean handoff, no drops. Also, you don’t want self interference; you want a good cluster frequency plan. Don’t forget the power setting has to be just right. All key factors in the optimization phase of deployment. An optimized network is a happy network. Happy networks mean happy customers.

Maybe Wi-Fi and LTE-U calling will change this. With the license free options you can already get internet access and make a voice call over Wi-Fi. Comcast has a serious Wi-Fi network that people could use If only Comcast would create a better core for voice, VOIP, or VoWi-Fi, so that they can complete voice calls. It looks like they are working towards this from what I have read, but who knows. They recently announced the deal with Verizon so maybe they will move ahead with a real heterogeneous network.

Q with A&A – (Questions with actions and answers)

Q) Are small cells plug and play? A&A – They should be! Femto cells usually are, so all indoor cells should be, get on that today! Tell the OEMs that it is a requirement.
Q) Do I have to preconfigure the cell ahead of time? A&A – Get the OEM or a vendor to set up a system where it will be ready to be put on the network. It could be through your office or the OEM or let the VAR do it! One of them could load a configuration file so that when the installer gets it all they need to do is power up and connect to the internet or some type of backhaul.
Q) What if it interferes with a neighbor? A&A – Monitor the site when it goes in and catch the PCMD data from the units in the building to update the cell. This is work, but chances are you’re already doing this or you have a SON server doing this. This should be automated.
Q) What if power needs adjusted? A&A – See above, monitor, adjust, done.
Q) What if the carrier feels they need to install the small cell? Action – Don’t do it! The OEMs are already training people so just verify certifications. Get out-of-the-way!
Q) Who will configure the radio? A&A – Build basic configuration files. Could be the VAR or it could come preconfigured.
Q) Who will certify the installers? A&A – Let the OEMs manage the certifications! They are doing it today. Carriers need to verify that the VAR is certified to commission the small cell. Again, they need to be trained by the OEM. There should be a certification for installation and commissioning.
Q) Do carriers have to stock the small cells and spend the extra expense tracking and shipping? A&A – Don’t do any of it except create the process! Let a warehouse, distributor, OEM, or the VAR do it. If you want complete control then manage and warehouse everything, but the reality is that you should work a deal with a distributor, VAR, or OEM to stock them, prep them, and install them. All the VAR should need to do is call you to verify configuration and date of install. Let each group do what they are good at.
Q) What if it’s a large iDAS system? A&A – Don’t get involved unless it’s a high-profile venue! Let someone else do all the work. They should be buying all the equipment to make your coverage better.
Q) What will the cost to the carrier be? A&A – Let the VAR’s buy direct. If you do this right you should only pay someone, a PM, to manage the process. The business, building or venue owner will pay for the installation and the small cell just like you want them to do for DAS. You need to define the process and approve the vendors. Get out of your own way!
Q) Where will we find these VARs? A&A – They will come to you if you have a contact or group they can talk to! Seriously, this business will boom because a ton of companies want to do small cells and iDAS, just make someone available to them. Set up the process to get contractors approved. Get the contractor vetted and move on to the next one. Seriously, why make more work for yourself? If they screw it up, then deal with it or throw them out of your system.
Q) What if the enterprise or venue calls the carrier? A&A – refer them to the nearest 1 or 5 VARs. Build a database of VARs by region. Let the customer run the RFP or bidding process. Let the VAR fight for the work.
Q) How do we let the VAR know what band to install? A&A – Create a process where they can either access a website or let them call the regional team for information. I like the website because it is automated with little human interaction.

I would recommend having the carriers approve indoor small cells and then letting VARs deploy them as part of the iDAS and indoor small cell systems. For indoors, the carriers don’t want to pay for the installation unless they have a large payback but a VAR will do it for the cost of the installation. Hopefully the business will pay for.

The carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint need to go to the next level for indoor deployments. In this case I would recommend letting the VAR do the installation for enterprise and for business. Let the VAR work with the end-user for installation of the indoor small cell just like they would the iDAS systems. Honestly, what are they waiting for? They just need to approve it for their system then the PnP, plug and play, should do the rest. Make the investment in a decent SON system and then hand it off to the VARs! Let them sell it to the businesses and enterprises! Let them improve coverage at the request of the end use, not at the carrier’s cost. Get out of your own way! Don’t forget to automate the system!

I think that this is what the carriers want. They can control their end of it with the testing, the labs, and the approvals. They can then hand it off to the VAR to sell it and install it to improve coverage. Just like everyone wants to do with Wi-Fi. Comcast figured it out. T-Mobile is giving the femto cells to the end-user. Let’s create a system that works with this business model.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve. If you don’t have a clean way to do this now then get busy! You should have done this already! Automate, integrate, and then grow!

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WDH Kindle has a lighter version

Carriers say they don’t want t pay for iDAS, what about indoor small cells. Here is an opportunity to let go.

If you are a vendor, a VAR, an installer, here is a golden opportunity for you to get in on a booming market. Coverage is the name of the game! Maybe LTE-U will take off, I know that Verizon has plans to deploy in 2016, or so they say, but wait and see.

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LTE-U vs. Wi-Fi! Carriers vs. Cable Companies! Free Spectrum!

September 14, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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Michael Buffer says “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

Can you believe that companies are fighting over unlicensed spectrum? Seriously, who thought this could happen? The people who invested so heavily in Wi-Fi, like Comcast and Google , are angry at the carriers, specifically Verizon and T-Mobile, who want to make the most of the license free spectrum by deploying LTE-U. Who knew 5.8GHz would be so valuable? The unlicensed spectrum battleground!

Hey Comcast, if you want to take out an opponent, then buy T-Mobile so you have one less carrier to worry about. Just a suggestion.

Why would deployment teams care? All of you that work in deployment will care because if LTE-U takes off then it will mean a lot of work because it should be all new equipment deployed. I don’t know who will be the first to roll it out, but it will need to be engineered and built. If they don’t do it then it’s Wi-Fi as usual, with all of the updates and hopefully some new spectrum soon. Think of it! If the cable companies roll it out first and they are in the best position to do so, then they could command the spectrum, or try to. From what I have seen, it takes the carriers a long time to deploy anything. The cable companies are nimble, they could do it quickly if they wanted to spend a few more $$$$$$$$$. Money is the issue, read on to find out more.

Why do Wi-Fi groups care? These people spent a fortune building out Wi-Fi and they are counting on all the people with smartphones and tablets to subscribe to their service. They were also hoping to get the carriers offload traffic to make more money on the side. This may hurt their business and they are also worried, (in the US), that the LTE may tramp on the Wi-Fi signal. There is no listen before talk in the US, which is you ever worked in Wi-Fi you see daily on your spectrum analyzer. I think that most companies don’t bother with spectrum analysis for Wi-Fi anymore, what is the point? Seriously!

Some background. I believe you all know what spectrum Wi-Fi runs on and that Wi-Fi is the only thing there. I think most of you know what LTE-U is, but for those of you that don’t know, here is my take. LTE-U is where Qualcomm (and Ericsson) worked together to create unlicensed LTE format in the 5.8GHz band where Wi-Fi currently runs. They are doing this to make the carriers systems and smart phones run more efficiently and because, (so they say), they can push more bandwidth through the same band. The carriers will be happy because it adds a great deal of efficiency to how they manage spectrum. Of course they say is will be a win for the consumer because they can access more data in the “free” bands. Hey, if Qualcomm says it then it must be true, right?

Technical report on LTE-U found here.

3GPP LTE information.

Linksys explains 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz.

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In other news:

The Wireless Deployment Handbook should be out soon!

So the FCC has to determine if Wi-Fi and LTE-U (and/or LAA), can coexist. Can they, of course, but the issue here is probably not technology, it has more to do with business and politics, in my opinion. You would be given the option to buy a Wi-Fi or LTE access point for your house, wouldn’t that be cool? You know you would get LTE just because it is the latest and greatest. You would try to get it before anyone else did just to say you had it first. I wouldn’t because I am cheap and I would wait for the price to drop. But hey, that’s just me. I just gave up my iPhone 4s a few weeks ago because it worked and it was reliable.

So what is the big deal? The FCC has to approve LTE to be run in this spectrum. No big deal, right? Wrong!!!! Apparently some Wi-Fi groups see this as a threat! It could be the end of Wi-Fi as we know it. They think that the Wi-Fi civilization would end. Would it, who knows? I remember when most Wi-Fi units were in the 2.4GHz range, and many may still be there. By the way, did you know that your microwave heats up the food using the 2.4GHz band? It just uses a massive amount of power. Just something to think about next time you have a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi unit sitting next to your body. Don’t worry, the power difference is huge! Microwaves put out massive power and then bounce it around to make sure your Ramon noodles are hot. Sorry, back to the point.

Click Here to Understand the Scope of Work

The FCC has to make a big decision. On one hand they have the carriers who pump a lot of money into the economy and who finally found a way to make real money in this band. Then you have all the Wi-Fi advocates that sell a lot of hardware to people like me who love Wi-Fi access at home. I really do. To be honest, I think I would put in a LTE box at home if it worked the same and had more bandwidth. I don’t care, I just want great speed to upload blogs like this and to watch stupid videos on YouTube and to download my music! Isn’t that what a free society is all about, great internet access? Do most people care about the pipe? The only part of the pipe they care about is the monthly price, right?

So who is in favor of LTE-U? So far, Verizon and T-Mobile! They love the idea and they let the FCC know that it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, (that is before we had to have sliced whole wheat bread because white bread is bad for us). I understand Verizon’s position because they want people on LTE because that is their bread and butter, they want the best performing system and they know that when people roam to Wi-Fi performance drops dramatically, making the system look bad when in reality it’s the Wi-Fi coverage. I think that T-Mobile is realizing that as well when they release Wi-Fi calling. I think that they see that Wi-Fi calling in a home with one Wi-Fi hotspot works very well but in a public place, like a train station or hotel lobby, it really sucks because of coverage and interference. I believe that with LTE-U they may be able to clean that up, but this is only speculation on my part.

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Who is against LTE-U? Comcast and Google who already deployed tons of Wi-Fi hotspots. I also see that Republic Wireless and Cablevision are against it and for good reason because they just invested tons of money in Wi-Fi hoping to make money in offloading to the carriers, but if the carriers go LTE-U, then they may build out their own systems and not use any of these people. They would have to share the band with LTE and no longer get to have Wi-Fi hotspots along with all the other Wi-Fi providers out there. Google already wrote a letter to the FCC explaining how the carriers would look at the Wi-Fi providers like the cable companies as competitors. I don’t know about that argument because in a capitalist society competition is considered good. So is Google saying that the carriers should partner with the cable companies? Not a bad idea, but if the FCC would not let AT&T take over T-Mobile, would they allow Verizon and Comcast become solid partners or merge? Maybe, who knows, but I don’t ever see that happening. Rumor has it that Comcast is looking into buying T-Mobile, making them a competitor or the other carriers anyway.

Who is neutral? Apparently both AT&T and Sprint. AT&T has a conundrum because they deployed tons of Wi-Fi, signed Wi-Fi roaming agreements with Sprint and T-Mobile, and yet they see the benefits in LTE-U, they really do. Sprint I think has too many other things to worry about, For instance Marcelo Claure is working to create a profitable company by following Softbank’s plan, so I understand why this is not a top priority. If I were him I would let T-Mobile worry about this issue.

Click Here to Understand the Scope of Work

How will the FCC make this decision? I think they will look at the arguments, and trust me the carriers are very powerful on capital hill with the help of PCIA and CTIA, so they have a strong edge in that department. They will look the Wi-Fi advocates and possibly listen to Comcast, who has lobbyists but they are not always popular with the Feds. Google, who is also against LTU-U has many friends in capitol hill, and they may use them if they decide to pick a fight, I really don’t know why they are fighting this but I know if they want to fight they will convince us that they are doing it for the greater good in society, that seems to be a common argument with them and I usually fall for it. Then the FCC will weigh in to see what effect this will have on future auctions, will LTE-U actually make the carriers utilize more free bands and lessen the need for licensed bands? This is the economics of the FCC . I don’t think they have anything to worry about since they just soaked the carrier for billions, which you and I will see as a slight increase in our mobile phone bills. I know they sold off assets to pay for it up front, but these carriers are smart, they will make the money back quickly after they deploy. It really feeds the economy with the deployment services (billions of dollars for RF, tower, and engineering workers) and then all of the commercials of who has better coverage, (millions for advertising companies), and plans will be on TV and on YouTube, I’m just saying.

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Something to think about, if the carriers do win and LTE-U or LAA is deployed, then the deployment teams will see income from a brand new deployment, a new market, new hardware on the scene. This will really stimulate work for the teams that previously deployed Wi-Fi or LTE. They could be called into action to engineer and install equipment for carriers. The OEMs of Wi-Fi would have a new product to build and sell. I see the economic stimulus for the field works.

Who really wins? Probably the OEMs that make Wi-Fi gear. They will sell more product. Ubiquity will make a cheap product that most people will deploy and Ruckus will make carrier grade product. Then you have all the other in between. The cable companies will probably deploy their own gear or they already have contractors doing it. The carriers will go through the lab testing phase, then through the field testing phase then finally deploy. The carriers will probably put it out to bid, lowest qualified bidder, so make sure you understand your Scope when you deploy!

So what do you think? Is this really a big issue for you, the end-user? Or is this just a political issue? Are the carriers really trying to take over the world and starting with Wi-Fi or are they trying to help out the consumer by lowering device costs? Do you see Comcast and Google trying to save Wi-Fi as we know it or are they holding on to an old technology by refusing to change or give up their investments? What will the FCC do? Will they weigh their decision only on technology or will they follow the political road and let the lobbyists fight it out on Capitol Hill? I guess we will see.

Stay informed!

This is something you may want to read, a letter that is signed by Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Competitors working together for the common cause of supporting LTE-U! http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001098662

More stories if you’re interested!

http://www.rcrwireless.com/20150827/carriers/lte-u-fight-plus-4-more-things-to-know-today-tag4

http://www.law360.com/articles/668282/google-at-t-out-of-tune-on-lte-u-repercussions

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cell-carriers-battle-for-wi-fi-airwaves-1440543853

http://www.eweek.com/mobile/regulatory-fight-brewing-at-fcc-over-lte-u-access-to-wifi-spectrum.html

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2941873/wireless/lte-u-is-coming-to-take-your-wi-fi-away-consumer-advocates-warn.html

http://fortune.com/2015/08/26/wifi-battle-brewing-cell-phones/

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2976474/wireless-local-area-network/carriers-want-your-wifi-lte-u.html

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