Wireless Transmission Blog 2012 in Review
- January 11, 2013
- Low latency, LTE backhaul, Microwave backhaul, microwave networking, small cell backhaul, wireless communication
Happy New Year and thank you to the avid readers of the Wireless Transmission Blog! We had readers from 186 countries (out of the official 192) during 2012! You’ll find other interesting statistics in the 2012 annual report WordPress has prepared below.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 40,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 9 Film Festivals. Click here to see the complete report.
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- The Modulation Arms Race: A Case of Diminishing Returns (aviatnetworks.com)
- LTE – Lessons Learned So Far (aviatnetworks.com)
- New (FREE!) Backhaul Path Planning Software Tools (aviatnetworks.com)
- 3 Truths about High Fade Margin in Point-to-Point Path Design (aviatnetworks.com)
Coverage Maps for New Wireless Spectrum Available to Fixed Services
- April 13, 2012
- bandwidth, Comsearch, coverage maps, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Fixed Services, frequency allocation, Microwave transmission, Radio spectrum, Spectrum Management, Telecommunication, United States Department of Commerce, wireless, wireless communication, wireless engineering, wireless spectrum, wireless technology
United States radio spectrum frequency allocations chart. The FCC has freed 650 MHz of spectrum to increase sharing possibilities for 7GHz and 13GHz bands. (Photo credit: United States Department of Commerce employee via Wikipedia)
As we blogged last summer, the FCC has released 650 MHz of new wireless technology spectrum for Fixed Service wireless communication technology operators. Now Comsearch, a leading provider of spectrum management and wireless engineering services in the US, has highlighted this issue in its latest online newsletter, with an article that includes some very informative coverage maps showing the zones where the new bandwidth is available.
These maps are excellent at conveying the limitations of the newly released spectrum for microwave link applications in the 7 GHz (6.875–7.125) and 13 GHz (12.7–13.1) bands. After taking into account the zones that are reserved for existing Fixed and Mobile Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) and the Cable TV Relay Service (CARS) users, these new bands are only available in about 50 percent of the US land mass covering only 10 percent of the population.
What do you think? Should the FCC loosen the spectrum sharing rules even more for 7GHz and 13GHz bands? Take our poll and tell us:
Related articles
- Senators Task FCC to Find Alternate Spectrum for LightSquared (phonescoop.com)
- Are Auctions an Appropriate Way to Allocate Microwave Spectrum? (aviatnetworks.com)
- Feds Update Spectrum Release to Relieve Wireless Congestion (aviatnetworks.com)
- Singapore IDA contemplates reserving spectrum for new entrant as it consults on 4G auctions (robbratby.com)
The Impact of Streaming Video on Wireless Network Services
- January 20, 2012
- Aviat Networks, Business, cat-playing-a-piano video, Director of Product and Solutions Marketing, Ethernet, Ethernet microwave backhaul, Ethernet microwave transport, Internet Protocol, microwave, mobile backhaul, Netflix, oversubscribe, oversubscribing, Skype, stat mux, statistical multiplexing, Steve Loebrich, Streaming media, streaming video, sustained video, Telecommunication, Telecommunications, video streaming, Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, wireless, wireless communication, wireless network services, wireless technology services, YouTube
Sustained video streaming, such as a video call over a mobile network, strains the stat mux paradigm of oversubscribing Ethernet microwave backhaul. However, proper management can ensure a consistent, high-quality user experience can be maintained. Image via Wikipedia (author: Kalleboo)
Mobile backhaul networks today support Ethernet microwave transport for 3G and 4G wireless technology services alongside legacy 2G and 3G TDM-based microwave equipment. However, as late as 2009 these wireless network services were solely TDM transport. One of the primary benefits of moving to Ethernet microwave transport has been the inherent statistical multiplexing (stat mux) gains. Stat mux relies on the fact that not everyone is “talking” at the same time and when they do, their IP radio packet sizes are variable, whereas networks based on TDM have to be provisioned statically for peak rates to individual wireless microwave sites.
With the advent of Ethernet, the typical practice is to oversubscribe all the wireless network services (based on individual peak rates) knowing that there is a statistical improbability of hitting the peak rate across all your wireless communication towers at the same exact moment.
Now enter video streaming where data is “streamed” between two wireless communication points over a sustained period (e.g., 30-second YouTube video clips, Skype HD Video Conferencing, Netflix movies). The sustained aspect of these video streams begins to strain the overall stat mux paradigm. Not only does video remain sustained but also it uses large-size IP radio packets that do not vary greatly. VoIP does the same thing, but the effect is much less significant as the overall bandwidth utilization is much lower.
Oversubscription becomes more challenging the more active video streaming is at any given moment. Imagine a scenario where the latest cat-playing-a-piano video gets posted online and everyone starts viewing it at virtually the same time. For a large swath of bandwidth, stat mux will reach zero for approximately four minutes. The upside is that you can add more bandwidth and/or offer differentiated wireless network services levels that guarantee certain bandwidth or application performance. Even so, video streaming does not totally negate the benefits of an Ethernet microwave transport, it just needs to be properly understood and managed to ensure a consistent user experience across all applications and services for your global wireless solutions.
Steve Loebrich
Director of Product and Solutions Marketing
Aviat Networks
Related articles
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- Finally Introducing Broadband Internet to Rural Africa (appablog.wordpress.com)
- Verizon Working On Video Content Delivery System (reelseo.com)
- What is Asymmetrical Link Operation? (aviatnetworks.com)
- Showtime begins streaming video to iPad as Comcast rolls out ‘AnyPlay’ live TV service (9to5mac.com)
