WCAI Applauds President Obama’s National Wireless Initiative

U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday outlined his plan for expanding high-speed wireless Internet service to 98% of Americans as part of the Administration’s National Wireless Initiative. The speech came after President Obama viewed a demonstration of a WiMAX system operated by Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on EBS spectrum.

“WCAI applauds the Obama Administration’s commitment to bring wireless broadband service to all Americans, including in rural areas, and to promote investment in America’s broadband infrastructure,” WCAI President and CEO Fred Campbell said in a statement. “As the only broadband platform that is capable of providing access everywhere, all the time, and at affordable prices, wireless broadband is essential to improving education, creating new jobs and growing the American economy. We look forward to working with President Obama, the FCC and Congress to implement this initiative.”

The key elements of the administration’s plan are:

• Freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum, including the use of “voluntary incentive auctions” and more efficient use of government spectrum, estimated to raise $27.8 billion over the next decade.

• Provide at least 98% of Americans with access to 4G high-speed wireless via a one-time investment of $5 billion and reform of the Universal Service Fund.

• Catalyze innovation by devoting $3 billion of the spectrum proceeds to a Wireless Investment (WIN) fund supporting research and development of emerging wireless technologies and applications.

• A $10.7 billion commitment to support the development and deployment of a nationwide wireless broadband network to afford public safety agencies with far greater levels of effectiveness and interoperability. An important element of this plan is the reallocation of the D Block for public safety and $500 million within the WIN Fund.

• $9.6 Billion of spectrum auction revenue will be devoted to deficit reduction.
  

Further information may become available when the Administration releases its budget proposal next week.

Enabling Smart Cities through a Unified Communication Platform

Ashish Sharma, VP Marketing, Alvarion

There is rapidly growing interest among municipalities and public safety agencies worldwide to invest in multi-purpose, city-wide broadband networks, thereby creating a “Smart City.” The goal for these “Smart City” initiatives is to provide a cost-effective and efficient approach for managing the city’s day to day operations. The technology of choice for the “Smart City” is the 4G WiMAX wireless network, which allows cities and municipalities to invest in a single scalable network infrastructure that can satisfy the diverse requirements of multiple city agencies. For a cost-effective “Smart City” solution, municipalities require a single, multi-purpose network for a wide range of applications and services including public safety and security, mobile broadband connectivity for first responders, intelligent traffic systems, connecting multiple city buildings and agencies and more.

The shift from multiple single-application solutions to a common platform that can be shared by multiple agencies for diverse citywide applications and services is a dominant trend among cities and municipalities. A common multi-purpose network approach based on Point-to-Multipoint (PMP), Mesh, and Point-to-Point (PtP) wireless topologies for optimal coverage leads to lower initial investment, lower operating costs and better overall performance.

WiMAX technology, based on the IEEE 802.16e standard, has the features and attributes necessary to meet the cost, performance and coverage demands required for a wide area cost-effective, all-inclusive broadband municipal network.

Alvarion’s complete portfolio of wireless broadband products are ideally suited to meet the demands and challenges of a broadband municipal multi-purpose network and support a full range of network topology options, including PMP, PtP and Mesh. This offers considerable flexibility in deploying a network for complete citywide coverage.

• PMP provides the majority of coverage with each base station supporting multiple stationary or mobile terminals. It is very easy to add or adjust terminal sites to address changing conditions. Even temporary terminals can be installed in a matter of hours within the base station coverage area to provide added surveillance for special events or planned gatherings or demonstrations.
• Line-of-site PtP links can be used to provide a dedicated high capacity link to a business or educational campus, a shopping center or any other venue where the traffic volume is expected to be high. A high capacity wireless PtP link is also a preferred option for the backhaul connection to the core network. This will most often be more cost-effective than leased lines.
• Coverage within the campus or shopping center environment can be achieved with a Mesh or Wi-Fi network.

In general, in most municipalities all three topologies along with Wi-Fi will be utilized for optimal coverage, performance and cost.

Municipalities have already realized many of the benefits of broadband connectivity for public safety applications and video surveillance with limited, application-specific solutions. To cost-effectively extend this capability, improve performance and support additional and more diverse citywide applications and services it is necessary to consider alternative network solutions. A citywide broadband wireless access network based on the 4G WiMAX global standard provides a common infrastructure with all of the attributes and features required for a high performance, cost-effective, multi-purpose municipal network.

If you’re interested in learning more about “Smart City” initiatives and the how to cost effectively build communication infrastructure, please sign up for our upcoming free webinar on Wednesday, September 15. The webinar will highlight a case study from City of Houston, a leading US city that is at the forefront of one such initiative. Additional details and registration information are available here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/676764776.

FCC Choose LTE for Public Safety

It’s official: LTE is the chosen 4G technology for interoperable public safety networks in the 700 MHz band. Yesterday the FCC granted conditional approval of 21 petitions filed by cities, counties and states that sought waivers to move forward with the construction of regional or statewide interoperable wireless broadband networks in the 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum. In doing so, the FCC mandated use of the LTE air interface.

Octo-Wireless Solves Insufficient Indoor Coverage Problems for Wireless Broadband Access

Wireless service providers can now meet the biggest challenge of insufficient indoor coverage for wireless broadband access. By providing smaller, powerful and less power consuming base nodes (microcells) in smaller areas, WCAI member Octo-Wireless helps operators in all licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands provide better coverage without a huge capital investment.

Octo-Wireless founders’ wireless experience dates back to the summer of 2002 when they pioneered many of the basic technologies that have driven the wireless mesh revolution over the last seven years. This intellectual leadership remains part of the company’s DNA, as Octo-Wireless continues to introduce wireless technologies to its customers worldwide.

The applications and services now available at home and in the office will become available everywhere. Ubiquitous broadband access will encourage work productivity, personal communications and entertainment on the go. New services and applications specifically suited to mobile usage will appear: mobile office, on-board entertainment, mobile search, fleet management, surveillance and public safety will be the first to be adopted and more will follow. To meet the demand for wireless broadband, carriers, mobile operators, service providers, utilities and enterprises have to explore new technologies when planning for next-generation networks. They want to roll out these services now.

However, one of the biggest challenges service providers are facing today is insufficient indoor coverage for wireless broadband access. The timing of 3G service rollouts is making this problem more relevant, as service providers realize that services will have limited success without addressing the indoor coverage issue. The cost to address these shortcomings with traditional macrocell base station solutions is too high and not feasible for most clients.

A picocell or, as Octo-Wireless prefers to call it, a microcell approach addresses these challenges in a much more cost-effective manner. Octo-Wireless’ goal is to lead the market in providing trusted wireless microcell solutions, which will enable its customers in the utilities, telecom and enterprise markets to access and really enjoy the limitless capabilities of the wirelessly enabled Internet.

A founding member of the WCAI’s 3.65 GHz Working Group, Octo-Wireless is also actively involved in assisting 3.65 GHz licensees in the United States with deployments and expansion of their networks.

Octo-Wireless is an ideal partner for operators that work toward reducing their networks' carbon footprints. Octo-Wireless ships products and solutions that meet or exceed industry standards and comply with the European RoHS requirements thus creating environmentally friendly technology advanced green products.

For more information on Octo-Wireless, please visit www.octo-wireless.com or contact Frank Koopman at fkoopman@octo-wireless.com.

Funding Scarce for Next-Generation 911

The future of next-generation, IP-enabled E911 is hampered by a lack of funding and momentum from both the public and private sectors, according to panel on the subject at the WCAI’s International Symposium last week covered by Wireless Week. David Furth of the FCC emphasized the importance of extending connectivity to unserved and underserved rural areas. “There are two regulatory issues that we’re going to be looking at. The first is to get basic connectivity out to the country because it affects 911 centers and first responders as much as it affects everyone else,” Furth said, adding that the FCC is examining how to configure rural broadband to that it will support the features needed for next-generation 911, both on the consumer side and the public safety side. Details.

Save the Date for the WCAI’s Wireless Policy Summit!

As the new Administration is acting on its commitment to bring broadband access to all Americans, we at WCAI are organizing a Wireless Policy Summit to examine the role of wireless in achieving universal broadband access at affordable prices. A premier event for the wireless broadband industry, the Summit will offer an open forum for exchange of ideas and presents an ideal opportunity to meet face-to-face with top decision-makers who are shaping the future of the industry in 2009 and beyond. Come join key officials from government and industry as they debate such critical issues as:

• Wireless and the Broadband Stimulus Package

• The Role of Wireless in Universal Broadband Access

• Application of Net Neutrality Principals to Wireless Broadband Networks

• Reforming Spectrum Management: What’s Next?

• Building a Wireless Broadband Network for Public Safety

The Summit will be held May 5-6, 2009 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, with May 6 being reserved for member-only activities. More information is available on our website.

We look forward to seeing you in May!