In telecom circles 5G is a panacea for all problems: there is a ready 5G application for any connectivity need. This makes 5G dominate private wireless network projections, while Wi-Fi is either ignored or dismissed as unreliable or unable to provide millisecond-grade latency. This ignores the fact that Wi-Fi is progressing along a roadmap that addresses its shortcomings… Read More »
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) brings a number of features that elevate the performance of Wi-Fi significantly from that of older generations. These features solve many of the challenges that limit the performance of current Wi-Fi networks, and raise the performance to a level close to that of cellular networks based on 4G and 5G technologies. Since 5G private networks… Read More »
Reading some of the literature about LTE-U (and LAA) leads you to believe that its deployment is a foregone conclusion: operators love it; vendors support it, and products will be available within months. But operators lack the sales channel into the enterprise where LTE-U is envisioned to be deployed and provide most value. While LTE-U may find its… Read More »
Calls for regulators to release more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi are getting louder: the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used and the 5 GHz band suffers from many restrictions that limit its applicability. LTE’s entry into unlicensed spectrum is further amplifying these calls and adding an acute sense of urgency. But what is required is more than additional… Read More »
Microgeneration allows one to generate electricity for own use, typically using renewable resources such as wind or solar energy. Excess energy can be sold to the power company. The arrangement helps in evening out the variability in energy consumption. It reduces the peak load requirements for the main grid while energy generated during non-peak hours can be diverted… Read More »
The wireless market in Canada is on the cusp of changes due to new regulations that open the market for a new breed of MVNO services. Full MVNOs are now possible: they will be able to have their own mobile network codes (MNCs) and provision their own IMSI numbers. Full MVNOs own their core network including all subscriber… Read More »
Guest post by Faris Alfarhan* The unprecedented increase in demand for high-speed broadband requires a bundle of solutions to satisfy the demanded capacity. Unlicensed spectrum is increasingly considered by cellular operators, internet service providers, and businesses as part of solution set. Unlicensed spectrum cannot match the quality of licensed spectrum, as the interference profile is much more stochastic.… Read More »
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the catalyst for a number of new standards that will reshape wireless connectivity as we know it. Examples: Bluetooth LE, LTE-MTC, Zigbee, and LPWA standards. Wi-Fi (802.11) is also being reshaped to accommodate IoT applications. These applications have different requirements which make connectivity techniques for IoT fragmented. Competition is not limited to… Read More »
There has been much written about why Het Nets are needed (running out of capacity) and when it will happen (licensed band small cell centric view of Het Nets). On the other hand, how Het Nets will happen is rarely discussed in the general media. Perhaps this is because this is a very technical discussion that does not… Read More »
The proposal by Qualcomm to enable LTE operation in unlicensed band (LTE-U) received a warm response from some (e.g. Ericsson, Verizon) and not so warm from others especially incumbents with strong legacy in Wi-Fi in both the vendor and operator communities. The contentious issue center on co-existence of LTE and Wi-Fi in the same band as Wi-Fi implements… Read More »
The evolution of wireless networks to a HetNet architecture is inevitable, but the question for industry players and investors is what form will it take. This is because there is no single approach to small cells, but rather there are multiple ways to densify the network. Making misplaced bets is common in the technology space, mainly because of… Read More »
With more mobile network operators using Wi-Fi to complement their radio access networks, one begs the question: how’s “carrier Wi-Fi” different from the one I have at home? What exactly is “carrier Wi-Fi”? While there is no proper, or exact, definition for carrier Wi-Fi, I think it’s more important to realize that the definition has been evolving with… Read More »
In the late 1880’s, Heinrich Hertz’s experiments with wireless signals were in the VHF/UHF bands (60 to 500 MHz). The first transatlantic transmission in 1901 by Marconi was either around 850 kHz or in the neighborhood of 100 kHz: he simply did not have reliable equipment to measure the frequency. With these modest starts, advances in communication system… Read More »
The Small Cell World Summit just concluded, so I would like to summarize my thoughts and impressions from this event. For a little perspective, the conference is sponsored by the Small Cell Forum, which was called the Femto Forum before it rebranded in February 2012. In alignment with this new vision, the 2013 edition of this conference featured… Read More »
This case study was designed to help answer important questions related to small cell deployments. It is based on a traffic forecast and capacity planning tool developed to aid operator strategic planning activities. The tool can also be used by vendors and other ecosystem players to map their product offering and plan for small cell deployments. Demand for… Read More »