Contents - Connect-World

Broadband Wireless
acceleration in investment
in incremental
upgrades to core networks.
Since that time,
enterprises have
retrenched due to capital
constraints; the focus is
now on controlling costs
and capital expense.
wireless broadband.
Today, wireless technology
can deliver better
performance than conventional
broadband
services, without the
high deployment costs
and installation complexities.
This has dramatically
changed the way networks
are developed.
Uncertain revenues and
rates of return, combined
with slashed capital
programs, have led to
incremental upgrades on an as needed
basis.
There has been a significant refocusing
of effort on finding economical
ways to expand networks, especially
broadband and wireless.
There is overwhelming evidence, for
example, that wireless ISPs (Internet
Service Providers) can generate profits
with broadband wireless. Although
the industry is still proceeding with
caution, growth in broadband promises
to set the stage for a new communications
era and enterprises both large
and small stand to benefit.
Broadband adoption
Broadband demand is significant and
growing. As such, there is a tremendous
worldwide need for cost-effective,
easy to deploy, broadband wireless
systems to help organisations
address the last mile access challenge.
The increasing need for high
performance voice, data and video
communications has fuelled the adoption
of new broadband services.
Broadband offers:
ˆ Faster uploading/downloading of
bandwidth-intensive applications
including video;
ˆ Always-on communication;
ˆ Delivery of VoIP (voice over IP)
services over general-purpose
Internet backbones at far less cost
than traditional telecom networks;
ˆ Elimination of per-minute charges
associated with traditional fixed and
mobility PSTN (public switched telephone
network) for VoIP services.
Where does broadband stand today
According to the ITU (International
Telecommunications Union) in their
Figure 1: The Indian government has announced a plan for expanded broadband coverage,
targeting 10 million subscribers by 2010. Much of this will be serviced through
broadband wireless.
report Birth of Broadband (Source:
Birth of Broadband—ITU 2003), of the
over 580 million Internet users in the
world, approximately 63 million are
broadband subscribers. The current
leaders in broadband penetration are:
South Korea with 21 subscribers for
every 100 inhabitants and Hong Kong
15 per 100 subscribers. Penetration in
Japan is eight per 100 inhabitants,
placing it ahead of the United States
(6.5 per 100) in the G7 nation rankings.
Broadband coverage is low even in the
business sector. Todays broadband
access technologies have significant
deficiencies and cannot cost effectively
deliver broadband to large numbers
of potential users. In the US, for
example, 95 per cent of businesses do
not have adequate fibre service.
The key challenge faced by fixed
broadband service is the limited area
covereddue to cost and complexity
of installationespecially over long
distances or in remote areas. Analysts
at TD Capital in New York report that
only three per cent of business buildings
worldwide have fibre. Still,
broadband has compelling appeal.
Installation issues aside, according to
the ITU, broadband serviceswhen
measured on a per bit basiscan be
up to 111 times less expensive than traditional
leased line services for business
users.
This cost savings is motivating governments
at the local, state and
national levels to consider such broadband
applicationsbeyond traditional
voice and data servicesas e-learning,
e-government, surveillance and other
bandwidth-intensive services.
The emergence of broadband
wireless
Broadband is rapidly changing in
response to the growing adoption of
Potential applications
span everything from
commercial and industrial
to military and
healthcare.
Broadband wireless is
used in a number of ways to bridge the
gap between existing networks and
expand services to previously underserved
regions:
ˆ In rural regions the ease of installation
and ability to cover long distances
permits greater throughput at lower
cost than DSL or cable;
ˆ Todays broadband wireless equipment
can provide data and voice backhaul
(connection to the backbone network)
for both mobile and fixed wireless
networks and provide a bridge
between widely separated local area or
Wi-Fi networks;
ˆ Broadband wireless has been highly
effective in accelerating the adoption
and expansion of cellular networks,
especially in regions of Asia and
Europe where the telecom infrastructure
is limited or costly to maintain.
Using broadband wireless to backhaul
their signals, cellular service providers
can leverage existing infrastructures
to bring coverage to more people in
more regions in a significantly shorter
time period at a very affordable rate;
ˆ The high security levels and high
bandwidth makes broadband wireless
an ideal choice for multiple local area
networks over a geographical area;
ˆ Deployments by financial and
healthcare institutions throughout the
Asia-Pacific region have allowed for
fast and easy communications
between sites, distance learning and
other bandwidth-intensive applications;
ˆ The rapid deployment capabilities
of broadband wireless have made it a
valuable resource for mobile and temporary
deployments, such as emergency
communications;
ˆ The Huaihe River Water
Commission in China, for example,
used broadband wireless following the
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